COLLEGE PARK, MD. — A Maryland lawyer admitted in federal court Monday to willfully failing to pay more than $2.1 million in employment taxes withheld from his law firm’s employees over a 24-year period, federal prosecutors said.
James E. McCollum Jr., an attorney licensed in both Maryland and the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty to one count of failing to pay over employment taxes. According to court records, McCollum operated a law firm under multiple names — including McCollum P.C., McCollum & Associates LLC, and The McCollum Firm LLC — but remained the sole owner and financial operator throughout.
As the firm’s proprietor since 1998, McCollum was responsible for withholding federal income taxes, as well as Social Security and Medicare contributions, from his employees’ paychecks and remitting those payments to the IRS quarterly. Prosecutors said he also failed to pay the employer’s share of Social Security and Medicare taxes, in violation of federal law…