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Tag: Internal Revenue Service
Merrick Business Owner Sentenced For Hiding Income, 'Off-Books' Payrolls, More
A Long Island woman must pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of restitution and spend over two years behind bars after she filed false tax returns, hid money from the government, and more, officials said.
Lorraine Pilitz, age 65 of Merrick, received her 33-month sentence and orders for restitution on Friday, Jan. 19, the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York announced.
Pilitz was the owner and operator of several car-related businesses on Long Island at the time of the crimes, which happened between 2011 and 2013, the USAO said.
The IRS requires that financial in…
$600K Fraud: Norwich Tax Preparer Gets Prison Time For Including Fake Expenses In Returns
A Connecticut man will spend years in prison for including false expenses on income tax returns for clients, federal officials announced.
David Etienne, a 49-year-old New London County tax return preparer based in Norwich, was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday, Jan. 17 for a tax fraud offense, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced.
According to federal officials, Etienne worked through several businesses, including Los Maestros Inc., Los Maestros Group, Tax Experts USA, and Tax Experts USA Inc. Between the 2012 and 2021 tax…
New Milford Accountant Steals $25K From Client, Police Say
A Connecticut accountant faces larceny charges after stealing $25,000 from one of his clients, police announced.
Carl Anderson, who owns Anderson Accounting and Finance LLC, was arrested in Litchfield County by New Milford Police on Friday, Dec. 22 following a lengthy investigation, the department announced on Wednesday, Dec. 27.
The investigation, conducted by New Milford Police, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Connecticut Department of Banking, determined that Anderson stole $25,000 from one of his clients, according to authorities.
Following his arrest, Anderson was ch…
Stafford Man Gets Prison Time For Tax Evasion: Ordered To Pay Over $160K To IRS
A 61-year-old Connecticut man will spend time in prison for filing a false tax return and providing false documentation to an Internal Revenue Service attorney, federal officials announced.
Tolland County resident David Kamal, age 61, of Stafford, was sentenced on Monday, Sept. 11 to eight months in prison for tax evasion, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced.
Earlier Report - CT Man Charged With Tax Fraud, Obstruction, ID Theft Offenses
According to federal officials, Kamal, a former Hebron resident, purposefully evaded taxes for the 2012 tax…
Madison Man Used Investor Funds To Pay Taxes, Credit Card Expenses, Gets Prison Time
A current Fairfield County resident formerly from New Haven County will spend years in prison for tax evasion and defrauding investors by using their funds to pay his personal expenses.
New Canaan resident Brian Hughes, age 58, formerly of Madison, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Monday, March 6 for defrauding investors of two companies, and for tax evasion, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced.
The charges stem back to March of 2015 when Hughes founded Handcrafted Brands, LLC (HBC), in order to raise money to purchase the alcoholi…
Repeat Watertown Lottery Winners Not So Lucky In Federal Court: DOJ
There was no one quite as lucky as the Jaaffar family of Watertown. The father and his two sons cashed in more than 14,000 winning lottery tickets to the tune of $21 million in prize money to make them some of the state's biggest winners every year for nearly a decade. And what was their unbeatable system?
They cheated, a federal court ruled.
Ali Jaafar, 63, and Yousef Jaafar, 29, were found guilty on Friday, Dec. 9, of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and of filing a false tax return, the US Attorney for Massachuset…
Wallingford Attorney Admits To Tax Evasion, Must Repay IRS $750K In Back Taxes
An attorney based in Connecticut faces jail time after admitting to tax evasion.
Wallingford resident Mark Carbutti, age 48, who is an attorney specializing in personal injury law, pleaded guilty to tax evasion on Thursday, Dec. 1, according to the Connecticut US Attorney's Office.
For several years starting in 2013, Carbutti only made limited payments of the over $585,000 he owed the Internal Revenue Service as a result of his legal practice and rental income for tax years 2013 through 2017. As a result, he also owed interest and penalties that accrued during this time as well,…
NJ Tax Preparer Admits Helping Dozens Of Clients Cheat IRS Out Of $500,000
A Union County tax preparer admitted that she helped dozens of clients cheat the government out of nearly a half-million dollars, federal authorities said.
Nehemie Leon, of Roselle, worked for Preferred Tax Choice in Irvington, records show.
While there, Leon admitted in court, she “fabricated and inflated” certain tax credits, itemized deductions, expenses, and exemptions for a host of clients, said Tammy Tomlins, the acting special agent in charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Newark Field Office.
Altogether, Leon prepared more than 100 individual returns for 31 clients, Tomlins said. …
Bucks Man Causes $1.5M In Damage Stealing Copper Wire From Old Power Plants To Resell: Feds
A 43-year-old Bucks County man has been charged with causing at least $1.5 million in damage to old power plants while stealing copper wire, authorities said.
The crimes were allegedly committed at four coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania and Maryland, according to US Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero.
Michael Garrison, of Croydon, PA, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to destroy an energy facility, eight counts of wire fraud, two counts of destruction of an energy facility, and one count of filing a false tax return, Romero said.
S…
CPA From Passaic County Admits Scheme To Hide $150,000 From IRS
A CPA from Passaic County admitted trying to hide $150,000 from the taxman with a little help from a friend.
His unidentified pal compensated William Kawam, 57, of Hewitt, for his accounting services by giving him a credit card belonging to one of the friend’s businesses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Kawam racked up $146,605 in charges from 2015 through 2017 that neither he nor his friend reported, Sellinger said.
The scheme shortchanged the Internal Revenue Service by $54,400, he said.
Kawam, a former partner at SKC & Co. LLC in Boonton, took a deal from the government rat…
Owners Of Popular Philly Cheesesteak Joint Plead Guilty In Tax Fraud Scheme
The owners of a popular Philadelphia cheesesteak joint pleaded guilty Monday, May 9 to federal charges in a tax fraud scheme, authorities said.
Anthony Lucidonio, Sr., 84, of Philadelphia, and Nicholas Lucidonio, 56, of New Jersey, the owners of Tony Luke’s on Oregon Avenue were accused of hiding more than $8 million from the IRS for around a decade, according to the US Attorney's Office.
Federal prosecutors say the father-son duo did this by paying their employees in cash to avoid withholding payroll taxes between 2006 and 2016. The pair were indicted in 2020.
The pros…
Former Yale Med School Employee Admits Stealing, Selling $40 Million In Electronics
A former Yale University School of Medicine employee has admitted to stealing $40 million in computer and electronic hardware from the university.
Jamie Petrone, age 42, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 28, to wire fraud and filing a false tax return, according to Leonard Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Petrone is a former resident of Naugatuck in New Haven County, and she currently resides in Georgia, Boyle said.
Beginning in about 2008, Petrone worked for the Yale University School of Medicine's Department of Emergency Medicine and most recently w…
Bridgeport Tax Return Preparer Admits To Fraud
A Fairfield County tax preparer has admitted to a charge related to claiming false deductions in clients' tax returns.
Torise Baker, age 38, of Bridgeport, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 21, to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent income tax returns, according to Leonard Boyle, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut.
From the 2014 through 2016 tax years, Baker prepared about 3,600 federal tax returns for clients through her 101 Things 2 Do, LLC business in Bridgeport, the US Attorney's Office said.
Boyle sa…
