New Milford Woman Sentenced To Prison In Tax Fraud Case: Feds

NEW MILFORD, CT — A woman has been sentenced to 13 months in federal prison on tax charges, according to a statement from Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Melissa Pezzolo, 66, will also serve 3 years of supervised release.

According to prosecutors, Pezzolo was the office manager and bookkeeper for a nursery and landscaping services company in Bethel for nearly 20 years. She was responsible for managing the company's books and invoices, paying the company’s bills, and handling the company’s payroll and employment tax obligations.

From 2014 to 2018, Pezzolo failed to file any employment tax returns and failed to make any related payments of withholding taxes on behalf of the company. She continued to distribute paychecks to employees that withheld employees’ income and FICA taxes, according to prosecutors.

She accounted for the withholdings on the employees’ annual W-2 forms, which she continued to issue, though she did not provide the W-2 forms or pay the related withholding taxes to the IRS or the Social Security Administration. She also failed to pay the company’s own share of FICA taxes, prosecutors said.

Pezzolo did not pay her own income taxes and did not issue herself any W-2 forms between 2010 and 2018, according to prosecutors.

Pezzolo admitted in her guilty plea that she stole more than $400,000 from her employer by giving herself unauthorized raises and by paying personal expenses using the company’s corporate bank account and company credit card.

Pezzolo has also agreed to make restitution of $1,329,314, which reflects $1,170,992 in unpaid company payroll taxes and $158,322 in unpaid personal income taxes for 2014 to 2018.

Pezzolo pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to collect or pay over tax, and one count of tax evasion of assessment in January.

She is required to report to prison by Aug. 1.