A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston this week to payroll tax avoidance and workers’ compensation insurance fraud, prosecutors reported.
According to the U.S. attorney’soffice, Henry Lam, of Lowell, used cash payments to employees to hide his firm’s true payroll, avoid collecting and paying taxes, and lowering his workers’ compensation costs.
Between 2016 and 2023, Lam owned and operated HL Temporary Services – a temporary employment agency in Lowell that served companies in Massachusetts. The clients 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.
Lam also used HL Temporary Services’ false payroll numbers to obtain worker’s compensation insurance at lower rates, prosecutors said.
Lam was arrested in July 2025 following his indictment. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Aug. 27.
Lam pleaded guilty to failure to collect and pay over taxes and mail fraud. He faces possible sentencing of from five to 20 years in prison and fines of $250,000, and restitution.
U. S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and IRS Special Agent Thomas Demeo made the announcement. The investigators were assisted by the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.
USI claims that Billy J. MacNair is violating employment and severance agreements by using confidential information and soliciting his former clients for his own Pennsylvania-based MacNair Enterprises LLC in direct competition with USI.
According to the complaint filed in federal district court for Connecticut, MacNair worked for USI in Norwalk, Connecticut from September 18, 2023 to January 29, 2026, during which time he gained access to USI’s confidential information while building and managing a book of business.
USI said MacNair’s employment was “involuntarily terminated” but the complaint does not say why. The complaint maintains that under his employment agreement, MacNair agreed he would not use confidential information or solicit clients he managed for two years after leaving USI.
However, according to USI, in April, just three months after his termination, USI learned that three of his clients were leaving USI and moving their business to MacNair at his new employer. The three represented annual revenues to USI of $337,000.
At that time in April, USI believed MacNair had taken a job with a competitor, Martin Insurance Group. USI says MacNair confirmed he had contacted the three clients. According to the complaint, only later did USI learn that MacNair was not with the Martin firm but had apparently opened his own agency.
