Former Company President Of Williamsville Payroll Firm Pleads Guilty To Grand Larceny Charge

Admits Stealing $16,000 in Withholding Taxes from Employees and Local Businesses

ALBANY, NY (07/01/2010)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Jamie Woodward today announced that the former president of a payroll processing firm has pleaded guilty to a felony grand larceny charge in connection with the theft of more than $16,000 in New York State payroll taxes.

Keith Kuehlewind, 54, of 84 Periwinkle Ct. in East Amherst, appeared on June 30 before Erie County Supreme Court Justice Penny Wolfgang and admitted that he had stolen withholding taxes paid by his employees and local businesses who had hired his firm to process their payrolls. He faces a maximum of seven years in state prison when he is sentenced on October 14.

Kuehlewind was the president of Audax Business Solutions, Inc. and Audax Business Solutions of New York, Inc. in Williamsville until September of 2009, when the companies went out of business.

The investigation began in October of 2009 when numerous Audax clients, including employees of a local day care center, complained to the State Police that they had received delinquency notices from the Tax Department informing them that they were delinquent in paying their withholding taxes. Investigators found that the withholding taxes had been collected by Audax, but that the funds were never remitted to the Tax Department.

The investigation was conducted by the Erie County District Attorney's Office with assistance provided by the state Department of Taxation and Finance.

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