A Massachusetts construction company owner is hammering out a deal with the feds after pleading guilty to tax and mail fraud charges. Hopkinton man Dariusz Pietron, 51, admitted to bilking the IRS and Travelers Insurance Company by failing to withhold and pay employment taxes and underreporting wages, the Department of Justice announced earlier this week. The sentencing for Pietron, who owned TJM Construction, Inc. and Point Construction, Inc., is slated for late August.
From 2012 to 2018, Pietron engaged in an elaborate scheme to create shell companies to dodge over $1.1 million in employment taxes and defraud an insurance company of nearly $250,000. He went so far as to recruit employees to run these dummy operations, thereby masking the true nature of his payroll obligations. These maneuvers led to substantial losses for the IRS and Travelers Insurance, fueling the federal charges he now faces.
Pietron's guilty plea could land him up to five years for the tax-related charges and an additional 20 for the mail fraud, not to mention potential fines in the hundreds of thousands. He's also on the hook to make amends in the form of restitution to both the IRS and Travelers Insurance, along with a quarter-million dollars in forfeitures as a part of his plea agreement.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy, Special Agent in Charge Harry Chavis, Jr. of the IRS Criminal Investigation in Boston, and Chief of Investigations Katherine Mulligan for the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts brought the offenses to light. According to Levy's announcement, these crimes are a stark reminder of the consequences that await those trying to cheat the system.
