Danbury Business Owner Admits Filing False Tax Returns: Federal Officials

DANBURY, CT — A Danbury business owner has admitted to filing false federal tax returns that significantly underreported his income over multiple years, according to federal authorities.

Mark Edwards, 61, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty in New Haven federal court to aiding in the preparation of a false tax return, officials said.

According to court documents, Edwards has owned and operated a roofing and construction business, Mark Edwards Roofing and Siding, LLC, since approximately 1998.

Beginning at least as early as 2018, Edwards failed to maintain accurate financial records for the business and instead provided handwritten income and expense figures to his tax preparer, according to authorities.

Those figures substantially underreported his income, officials said.

From 2019 through 2023, Edwards underreported his business’s gross receipts by at least $1.3 million, resulting in a tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service of $368,334, according to court documents.

Edwards pleaded guilty to aiding in the preparation of a false tax return, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

He was released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.

The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.