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Wallingford resident Mark Carbutti, age 48, who is an attorney specializing in personal injury law, pleaded guilty to tax evasion on Thursday, Dec. 1, according to the Connecticut US Attorney's Office.
For several years starting in 2013, Carbutti only made limited payments of the over $585,000 he owed the Internal Revenue Service as a result of his legal practice and rental income for tax years 2013 through 2017. As a result, he also owed interest and penalties that accrued during this time as well, officials from the US Attorney's office said.
Between December 2014 and May 2019, Carbutti received at least 12 notices from the IRS that contained instructions on how to pay his overdue taxes.
However, Carbutti would instead close his personal bank accounts that were levied by the IRS and avoid any payments by writing checks from his law firm's operating account to his paralegal, which were then converted to cash and deposited into limited liability companies Carbutti created in relation to his real estate holdings, according to the US Attorney's Office.
Additionally, Carbutti would also withdraw large amounts of cash from his law firm bank accounts and redeposit it into his LLCs bank accounts, the US Attorney's office said.
Between around 2013 and 2019, Carbutti is estimated to have paid $600,000 in personal expenses from these bank accounts, which included expenditures such as gambling at casinos, restaurants, vacations, and the purchase of a BMW vehicle, according to the US Attorney's Office.
As a result of his tax evasion, Carbutti agreed to pay $750,180 to the IRS in back taxes, penalties, and interest, officials from the US Attorney's office said.
Carbutti faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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