The Brief
- A Dallas business owner, Heaven Marie Diaz, was convicted of failing to pay over $3 million in employment taxes.
- Diaz used the withheld funds for personal expenses, including international travel, luxury goods, and lavish “murder mystery” parties.
- She faces up to five years in federal prison for each of her five counts when sentenced in September 2025.
DALLAS – A federal jury in Dallas has convicted a business owner who attempted to convince jurors that lavish “murder mystery” parties at her Preston Hollow home were legitimate business expenses while she withheld over $3 million in employment taxes from her employees.
Heaven Marie Diaz, 57, was found guilty on all five counts of failing to pay over trust fund taxes after a four-day trial and less than an hour of deliberation. She was indicted in 2023.
Details of the Scheme
Big picture view:
According to evidence presented at the trial, Diaz was the owner and CEO of Pursuit of Excellence, a Dallas-based staffing company. From 2015 to 2017, she withheld payroll taxes from her employees’ paychecks but failed to remit more than $3 million to the IRS as required by law.…