Operators of Saylorsburg veterinary clinic sentenced to prison, ordered to pay $2.5M

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Two sisters who operate a veterinary clinic in Monroe County were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay nearly $2.5 million in restitution for failure to remit payroll taxes.

Dr. Karin Breitlauch, the veterinarian at Creature Comforts Veterinary Service in Saylorsburg, and Linda Breitlauch, who is the business’ comptroller, pleaded guilty last July 20 willful failure to pay taxes they collected to the government. They were indicted Jan. 28, 2020 in a federal investigation, court records say.

“Between 2013 and 2016, the Breitlauchs withheld federal income taxes from their employees’ paychecks but failed to remit the withholdings to the Internal Revenue Service for tax quarters 2013 through 2016 and failed to pay the employer portion of the payroll taxes,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said in a news statement Monday.

“This money included Social Security payments that would benefit their employees. When some employees went to collect their Social Security benefits their earnings while employed at the veterinary clinic were not recorded with the Social Security Administration,” it said.

U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion on Friday sentenced Karin Breitlauch, 58, of Saylorsburg, and Linda Breitlauch, 64, of Stroudsburg, each to 12 months plus one day in prison. The Breitlauchs were ordered to pay $2,486,495.99 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release following their incarceration. Mannion ordered the Breitlauchs to surrender themselves to the Bureau of Prisons on July 29 to commence their sentence.

Calls for comment Tuesday afternoon to the Breitlauchs’ defense attorneys were not immediately returned. Creature Comforts remains open, but a call for comment there did not immediately generate a response either.

The Internal Revenue Service investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.

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