A Massachusetts man has admitted to dodging the taxman in what authorities describe as a million-dollar tax fraud scheme involving his two businesses. Kenneth Marston of Hanson entered a guilty plea to a single count of failure to collect and pay over employment taxes, aligning with a case presented by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to an October 9 announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Marston, 67, owned Bowmar Steel Industries, Inc. and Teleconstructors, Inc. between 2015 and 2018. The government charged that during this period, he skirted around his tax obligations by misclassifying his employees as independent contractors, thus flouting standard withholding requirements on over $3.8 million in wages. The outcome of such maneuvering meant shirking of $1 million in dues to the IRS.
A conviction for failure to pay over taxes can carry a hefty penalty, which may include up to five years behind bars, three years of supervised release, and fines that could reach $250,000 or double the sum of the gross gain or loss — whichever figure proves to be greater. This case will see U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani hand down the sentence on January 3, 2025, having regard to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy, alongside Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations in Boston, announced the guilty plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Drabick of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit, and Trial Attorney Mark McDonald of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are leading the prosecution on this case.
