Mari Alexander of Ross Behavioral Group Chain Charged with Tax Crimes

The federal indictment of a mental health counseling center owner exposes a darker intersection of psychiatry and financial malfeasance, where institutional trust is betrayed and vulnerable workers are collateral damage in systemic abuse. From at least 2011 through 2023, Mari Ross-Alexander, owner and president of Ross Behavioral Group, a Tennessee-based mental health counseling chain, allegedly manipulated payroll systems and withheld Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes from her employees but did not remit those funds to the Internal Revenue Service. For five consecutive years from 2015 through 2020, employees received W-2s and paystubs that falsely implied compliance with federal tax obligations, masking a scheme that purportedly funneled withheld funds away from statutory duties.

The alleged financial misconduct caused more than one million dollars in tax losses to the IRS and represents an alarming abuse of authority by a figure entrusted with both clinical and managerial responsibility. These charges underscore how individuals steeped in psychiatric enterprise can exploit their positions, undermining both legal and ethical frameworks that are supposed to protect workers and clients alike. If convicted on the eleven counts of willfully failing to account for and pay over employment taxes, Ross-Alexander faces up to five years in prison for each count, along with supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mitchell T. Galloway and Trial Attorney Ashley J. Stein with investigative support from IRS Criminal Investigation and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.

Beyond its legal ramifications, this indictment highlights the broader consequences of unaccountable leadership within mental health institutions. Employees were misled about their lawful compensation obligations, and public confidence is eroded when centers tasked with care become entangled in tax fraud. Ross Behavioral Group’s alleged conduct reveals systemic vulnerabilities in oversight that psychiatric industry stakeholders must confront with transparency and accountability.

Read the case information (pdf).