Former Stillwater mayor to plead guilty to conspiracy

Stillwater mayor
Ken Harycki, March 13, 2012.
Jeffrey Thompson / MPR News 2012

Former Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States at a U.S. District Court hearing in Minneapolis Thursday, his attorney Thomas Brever said.

Harycki was charged in December for evading income taxes when he allegedly conspired with owners of multiple Minnesota health care companies to keep between $1 million and $2.5 million in taxes, Brever added.

A sentencing date has not been set, but sentencing guidelines call for 36 to 42 months in prison. Brever said Harycki has been cooperating with the government and may receive a lesser sentence.

"If his cooperation results in conviction of other individuals, the government has agreed to move for a reduction of his sentence," Brever said. "That technically is a departure from the sentencing guidelines."

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Harycki, a certified public accountant, was charged a few months after the Internal Revenue Service and FBI raided his office at Customized Payroll Solutions, which provides businesses across the Twin Cities with payroll, taxes and human resources services.

The charges say Harycki knowingly prepared false tax forms for twin brothers Thurlee and Roylee Belfrey and their health care companies.

The Belfreys have controlled several health care companies over the past 15 years, according to charges.

One of the companies, Model Health Care, submitted thousands of fake claims for Medicaid reimbursements from 2002 to at least March 2014.

The Belfreys pleaded not guilty in December, according to court documents. A trial date for the twin brothers has been set for Feb. 17.