Press Release: 5/29/2026

Lowell Man Pleads Guilty to Hiding More Than $6 Million in Payroll

 



Thursday, May 28, 2026



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For Immediate Release



 



BOSTON – A Lowell man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to his involvement in payroll tax avoidance and workers’ compensation insurance fraud. 



Henry Lam, 68, pleaded guilty to failure to collect and pay over taxes and mail fraud. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Aug. 27, 2026. In July 2025, Lam was arrested following his June 2025 indictment.  



Between 2016 and 2023, Lam owned and operated HL Temporary Services – a temporary employment agency in Lowell that served client companies in Massachusetts. The client companies paid HL Temporary Services for the temporary employees’ work on an hourly basis. Lam cashed these client’s checks at check cashing businesses in Massachusetts and paid the temporary employees primarily in cash. By using cash payments, Lam hid over $6.1 million in payroll and avoided paying more than $1.5 million in required payroll taxes. It is further that Lam also used HL Temporary Services’ false payroll numbers to obtain worker’s compensation insurance at lower premium rates. 



The charge of failure to collect or pay over taxes provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, and restitution. The charge of mail fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, restitution, and forfeiture. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.



United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.