1st Abundant Home Care founder faces federal trial in April

Alicia Williams Higginbotham faces a federal jury trial beginning April 5 in Lake Charles, where she is charged with failing to remit payroll taxes and file individual income returns for her home healthcare company. The proceedings center on funds withheld from employee paychecks between 2020 and 2023. Higginbotham has pleaded not guilty to all 18 counts brought against her.

The charges stem from the operations of 1st Abundant Home Care, a Calcasieu Parish business Higginbotham established in 2008 under the name Professional Care of Louisiana. The company is currently listed as not in good standing with the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office due to a failure to file an annual report. The phone number associated with the business is no longer in service.

Higginbotham was taken into custody in September and released on a $25,000 bond. As a condition of her release, she surrendered her passport. She now faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of the 14 counts related to payroll taxes and up to one year for each of the four counts related to individual income tax returns.

The 14 payroll tax counts allege a failure to account for and pay over trust fund taxes. These include income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes that an employer holds from employees’ paychecks in trust for the federal government. The four additional counts allege a failure to file an individual income tax return for the company.

This federal case follows a civil ruling by U.S. District Judge James Cain Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana. In August 2025, Judge Cain awarded a former employee, Chastity Smith, more than $16,000 in damages for unpaid wages and overtime during 2022 and 2023. Smith alleged that Higginbotham failed to pay minimum and overtime wages required under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Judge Cain is also presiding over the current criminal tax fraud case.

The case is part of a nationwide enforcement effort led by the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and the IRS Criminal Investigation branch. The divisions targeted 76 defendants in September and October, claiming the actions recovered $490 million in lost revenue. The National Fraud Enforcement Division was created earlier this year.

U.S. Attorney Zachary Keller of the Western District of Louisiana stated that tax fraud harms employees, honest taxpayers, and business owners. He said his office would aggressively pursue individuals who steal from employees and evade lawful tax obligations. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche noted that every dollar stolen through tax fraud is taken from the American people.

Andres Gomez, Higginbotham’s public defender, did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment on the upcoming trial. The business is listed as not in good standing with the state, and the company’s main contact number is disconnected.