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Pasquale Furano, of Greenwich, was sentenced in New Haven District Court on Friday to 12 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion earlier this year.
Furano, 48, was the sole proprietor of Furano Landscaping, which provided landscaping and snowplowing services to nearly 200 commercial and residential customers in Fairfield and Westchester counties, according to John Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, said.
According to court documents and filings:
- From 2009 through 2013, Furano underreported more than $2.5 million in gross receipts on his federal tax returns.
- During those five years, Furano falsely reported a total taxable income of $264,697 when his actual total taxable income was $1,751,727. Consequently, he only paid a total of $44,213 in federal taxes when he actually owed an additional $540,182.
- An investigation into Furano and his business found that he evaded payment on his federal taxes by negotiating approximately 2,436 client checks, totaling approximately $1,295,990.23, at the bank for cash rather than depositing the checks into his business accounts, sometimes cashing up to 38 checks in one day. Furano also did not disclose to his tax return preparer his receipt of cashed client checks and other deposited client checks.
- On Oct. 16, 2014, IRS special agents searched Furano’s residence and seized handwritten business records of his actual gross receipts, as well as $613,842 in cash.
Prior to his sentencing this week, Furano paid the IRS $1,099,471.87, which represents the back taxes he owed for those five years, including interest and penalties. He has also paid the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services $112,360 in sales tax he collected from customers that he never paid.
Furano remains released on bond. He is scheduled to report to prison on Nov. 8.
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