Donald Biagi, 55, of Fairfield also will serve one year of supervised release in the sentence issued by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello.
Biagi, through Don Biagi Landscaping, generated business income by providing landscaping and snowplowing services to commercial and residential customers in Fairfield County. He regularly negotiated client checks at banks for cash rather than depositing the checks into his business accounts. Between 2008 and 2010, Biagi cashed approximately 574 client checks, totaling approximately $848,750.
Biagi, who acted as his own bookkeeper, did not disclose to his tax return preparer the client checks he cashed and some of the client checks he deposited into his business account between 2008 and 2010. As a result, a total of $1,321,305 in business gross receipts were not reported on Biagi’s federal tax returns for 2008, 2009, and 2010, resulting in his substantially under-reporting his taxable income. He failed to report approximately 62 percent of his business’s gross receipts in 2008, approximately 47 percent of the gross receipts in 2009, and approximately 60 percent of the gross receipts in 2010.
Judge Covello ordered Biagi to pay $445,579 in back taxes, and additional penalties and interest that have accrued on his unpaid taxes. He made a $50,000 payment toward his restitution Wednesday.
Biagi pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion last September. He was ordered to report to prison on April 1.
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