Hudson Valley Contractor Hid $1.5M in Income From New York

A Hudson Valley construction contractor admitted to concealing $1.5 million in business income.

Mario G. Nunes, 59, of Yonkers recently pleaded guilty to tax evasion and filing false federal income tax returns. The 59-year-old pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Nelson S. Román, in White Plains federal court.

“As he admitted in court, the defendant engaged in a scheme to evade paying federal income taxes for years, including by concealing business income, making false statements to the IRS, and filing false federal income tax returns. Nunes has now pled guilty to federal crimes and faces time in federal prison, another example that attempting to conceal income and filing false returns are ultimately far costlier than filing accurate returns and paying one’s taxes due," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

Nunes confessed he was an independent contractor who performed construction work, including as a subcontractor for commercial and residential masonry and concrete projects. He filed false federal income tax returns for tax years 2012 through 2017 and, from in or about March 2014 through in or about May 2019, orchestrated a scheme to evade payment of his unpaid assessed federal income taxes, including by falsely informing the IRS, in response to its collection efforts, that he was unemployed and relying on family and friends for living expenses.

At the same time, Nunes concealed more than $1.5 million in business income by, among other things, depositing business receipts into personal bank accounts, cashing checks received from customers rather than depositing the funds into a bank account and instructing customers to pay his suppliers directly.

He pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and six counts of subscribing to false tax returns, each of which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

“Mr. Nunes attempted the cheat the system but the system caught up with him. Thanks to the efforts of our IRS-CI Special Agents, Mr. Nunes will now be held to account for the lies, evasion and false returns he used to shelter more than $1.5 million dollars from taxation," IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Fattorusso said.

Nunes agreed to pay restitution to the IRS, representing the additional tax due and owing as a result of his conduct, in the amount of at least $330,833.

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