Walpole Man Sentenced For Filing A False Tax Return

WALPOLE, MA — Walpole man was sentenced in connection with failing to report income from his landscaping business to the Internal Revenue Service. Stephen L. Petrucci, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return.

He was sentenced to one year and a day in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $10,000 and restitution to the IRS in the amount of $633,327.

Petrucci owed more than $630,000 in income taxes to the IRS after he failed to report approximately $1.8 million in income from his landscaping business on his federal tax returns for tax years 2012 through 2017, according to the Department of Justice. To conceal his scheme, Petrucci utilized bank accounts at three different banks or directly cashed customer checks without first depositing them.

He also maintained two sets of books: one to track business receipts deposited into his corporate account and one to track gross business receipts. He further withheld information concerning his gross business receipts from his tax preparers.