Westchester Contractor Hid More Than $1.5M In Income From Feds

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A Westchester contractor has entered a guilty plea to charges he hid more than $1.5 million in income from the IRS.

Mario Nunes entered a guilty plea in federal court to tax evasion and filing false federal income tax returns.

"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," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said announcing the plea deal. "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."

Nunes admitted that as an independent contractor who performed construction work, 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.

During this time, the 59-year-old was in fact concealing more than $1.5 million in business income by 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.

"Mr. Nunes attempted to cheat the system but the system caught up with him," IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Thomas Fattorusso said. "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.”

Nunes pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He also admitted to six counts of subscribing to false tax returns, each of which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. He has agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of at least $330,833.

Nunes' sentencing is scheduled for April 14.