Last Thursday, a Massachusetts paving company owner was handed a prison sentence for his involvement in a tax evasion scheme. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Richard Cooper, 71, of Billerica, was sentenced after pleading guilty to concealing $5.1 million in customer payments from the Internal Revenue Service.
Cooper, who ran Rick Cooper Paving just north of Boston, will spend six months behind bars followed by two years of supervised release and has been ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution. In the case presented, it was disclosed that from 2017 to 2020, Cooper not only deposited checks into his company's bank accounts but also cashed them, which kept significant amounts of income off the books. This omission led to his tax returns severely understating the business’ gross receipts.
As reported by the Department of Justice, during the period in question, Cooper managed to evade more than $1.1 million in due federal and state taxes. The IRS Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office's Acting Special Agent in Charge, Thomas Demeo, along with United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, announced the sentence. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil.
Cooper’s admission of guilt came in October 2024 when he pleaded guilty to four counts of tax evasion, as the scale of his scheme, which spanned several years, was laid bare. These deliberations occurred before U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper, who issued the final sentence months later.
