Owner of Wichita accounting business charged with 50 counts in federal court

The owner of a Wichita accounting business, who previously faced scrutiny for her business practices, has now been charged in federal court with 50 crimes, including using her clients’ money for “concert tickets, travel, landscaping, and credit card payments,” court records show.

Nicole Clem, the owner of Bookkeeping N Beyond, was charged Wednesday with 19 counts of wire fraud, 21 counts of failure to pay employment taxes, seven counts of money laundering and three counts of aggravated identity theft, federal court records show.

The business is located at 10333 E. 21st in north Wichita. A message left at the business on Friday was not returned. The business was formed in 2017, but was no longer registered in Kansas as of July 15, 2025, after the necessary paperwork was not filed, according to the Kansas secretary of state’s website.

For each count of wire fraud, the 42-year-old Augusta woman faces up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Each of the other counts carries between two and 10 years in prison and fines between $10,000 to $250,0000.

Clem is accused of failing to make over $1.5 million in tax payments on behalf of her clients, the documents allege, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Kansas.

Here is what court documents say are personal expenses Clem paid with client money meant for taxes:

• $11,147.50 to the Plastic Surgery Center in October 2022
• $39,000 to Something White Bridal in April 2021
• More than $15,000 each to Chase Credit Card and Discover in February 2023
• $21,900 to Wichita Wind Surge in March 2022 and $15,000 in July 2023
• About $27,500 to Commerce Construction in February 2021

The court documents also allege Clem, after having her electronic filing number revoked, started using her employee’s number to file more than 300 1040s and more than 30 business tax returns. That happened between October and November 2022. That number is assigned to workers who prepare and file tax information for others.

In December 2023, Clem agreed to pay $120,000 in penalties and other fees after delaying or not filing taxes for at least 16 customers, court records show. Court records do not show if any or all of that money has been paid.