Greenwich Landscaper Sentenced In Tax Evasion Case: U.S. Attorney

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich landscaper and resident Pasquale F. Furano, 48, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 12 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for tax evasion, announced United States Attorney John H. Durham. In March, Furano pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.

As the sole owner of Pasquale Furano Landscaping, he provided landscaping and snowplowing services to approximately 150 to 200 commercial and residential customers in Fairfield and Westchester counties, according to prosecutors and court documents. For the tax years of 2009 through 2013, Furano "underreported more than $2.5 million in gross receipts on his federal tax returns. For those five years, Furano falsely reported total taxable income of $264,697 when his actual total taxable income was $1,751,727. Consequently, he only paid a total of $44,213 in federal taxes when he actually owed an additional $540,182," according to authorities.

The investigation revealed that Furano evaded the payment of his federal taxes by negotiating approximately 2,436 client checks, totaling approximately $1,295,990.23, at the bank for cash rather than depositing the checks into his business accounts, sometimes cashing up to 38 checks in one day. Furano also did not disclose to his tax return preparer his receipt of cashed client checks and other deposited client checks, prosecutors said.

In October 2014, IRS special agents conducted a court-authorized search of Furano’s residence and seized handwritten business records of his actual gross receipts and $613,842 in cash.

Prior to his sentencing, Furano paid the IRS $1,099,471.87, which represents all of the back taxes he owed for the 2009 through 2013 tax years, plus interest and penalties.

Furano also has paid the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) $112,360 in sales tax he collected from his customers from 2009 to 2013, but did not pay to the DRS.

He is currently free on bond and must report to prison on November 2, 2018.

This matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter S. Jongbloed.

Image via Shutterstock

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