Bail bonding company owner and former employee admit to tax fraud

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – William W. Seelbach, of Fort Meyers, Florida, and Jolynn Gilchrist, of Wheeling, West Virginia, have admitted to tax fraud, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Seelbach, age 68, owner of W&S Bail Bonding, doing business as A Bail Bonding by ABC of Wheeling, West Virginia, pled guilty to  one count of “Conspiracy to Defraud the United States—Impede the Internal Revenue Service,” and one count of “Failure to File Individual Income Tax Return for Tax Year 2012.” Seelbach admitted to impeding the IRS in its collection of taxes, and failing to file a federal income tax return for 2012 to report $144,030 in income to the IRS.

Gilchrist, age 49, former employee of ABC, pled guilty to one count of “False Tax Return.” Gilchrist admitted to filing an inaccurate federal tax return for the 2015 tax year.

Seelbach and Gilchrist each face up to five years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod J. Douglas and Shawn M. Adkins are prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations, and the West Virginia State Police investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Seibert presided.