Shelton Pro Poker Player Receives Jail Time In Federal Tax Case

SHELTON, CT — A 63-year-old Shelton businessman and professional poker player was sentenced to 14 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for tax evasion, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Leonard C. Boyle,

Guy Smith was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford. He pleaded guilty in December and is free on bond. He is scheduled to report for his prison term at the end of June.

According to court documents and statements, Smith owns and operates Centerline Interiors LLC, a commercial interior construction business, and as a professional poker player, Smith has participated in poker tournaments at casinos in Connecticut and other locations around the U.S. and The Bahamas.

Prosecutors said that Smith withdrew funds from both his business and personal bank accounts for his gambling business.

"For the 2012 through 2016 tax years, Smith furnished his tax preparer with a summary of Centerline’s income and expenses, which the tax preparer used to prepare Smith’s federal income tax returns," according to prosecutors. "Smith did not provide his tax preparer with any bank statements. During these five years, Smith intentionally failed to report to his tax preparer, and to the IRS, approximately $1.1 million in income he received from Centerline Interiors."

Additionally, even though the IRS notified Smith on multiple occasions that he was required to report all of his gambling income on his federal tax returns, he "concealed his gambling income from his tax preparer and paid no income taxes on more than $1 million in gambling winnings."

As a result, for the 2012 through 2016 tax years, Smith failed to pay a total of $821,415 in federal income taxes, according to government. In addition to Smith's prison sentence, Judge Shea also ordered him to pay all outstanding taxes, interest and penalties.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. McGarry.