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Thinly Staffed IRS Won't Issue Refunds During Shutdown Thinly Staffed IRS Won't Issue Refunds During Shutdown
Thinly Staffed IRS Won't Issue Refunds During Shutdown As tax season draws near, the Internal Revenue Service, thinly staffed due to the partial government shutdown, can’t currently issue any refunds. In addition, the IRS has not announced an official start date for the 2019 filing season. The IRS began the filing season last year on Jan. 29. The IRS is now working under non-filing season shutdown plans with only 12.5 percent of the IRS workforce authorized to work. The partial shutdown marked its 14th day on Friday, Jan. 4. As the standoff drags on, about 800,000 federal employees are working without pay or being furloughed.  …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Famed Fairfield County Restaurant Owner Admits To Evading $816K In Taxes Famed Fairfield County Restaurant Owner Admits To Evading $816K In Taxes
Famed Fairfield County Restaurant Owner Admits To Evading $816K In Taxes A nationally known food celebrity known as "Lord of the Pies" who owns restaurants in Westchester and Fairfield counties has admitted to filing false income tax returns and payroll tax returns totaling nearly a million dollars.Bruno DiFabio, 49, of Ridgefield has ownership interest in the following: Pinocchio Pizza in New Canaan and Wilton, Connecticut; Amore Pizza in Scarsdale, Amore Cucina and Bar in Stamford; ReNapoli Pizza in Old Greenwich. DiFabio’s business partner, Stamford resident Steven Cioffi, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the filing of a false t…

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by Joe Lombardi
Politics
Trump Engaged In 'Dubious Tax Schemes,' 'Outright Fraud,' NY Times Investigation Finds Trump Engaged In 'Dubious Tax Schemes,' 'Outright Fraud,' NY Times Investigation Finds
Trump Engaged In 'Dubious Tax Schemes,' 'Outright Fraud,' NY Times Investigation Finds President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents, according to this investigation by The New York Times. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help. Related story: New Forbes Rankings Of 400 Wealthiest Americans: Trump Takes Another Plunge However, the Times’s investigation, based on a trove of confidential tax retur…

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by Jon Craig
News
Man Admits At Bridgeport Federal Court To Improperly Receiving $663K In Income Man Admits At Bridgeport Federal Court To Improperly Receiving $663K In Income
Man Admits At Bridgeport Federal Court To Improperly Receiving $663K In Income A former business owner in Connecticut has admitted to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks by utilizing his company’s presence overseas and overbilling his employer. Serafino Canino of Torrington has pleaded guilty in Bridgeport federal court to one count of tax evasion for his role in a four-year scheme that saw him improperly receive more than $600,000 in misappropriated income while he was working at Innovative Concept Corporation (ICC) and had an ownership interest in the company. While employed by ICC, which manufactures and distributes small power and hand-tools, C…

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by Zak Failla
News
Owner Of Restaurants In Stamford, Old Greenwich Admits To $122K Tax Fraud Owner Of Restaurants In Stamford, Old Greenwich Admits To $122K Tax Fraud
Owner Of Restaurants In Stamford, Old Greenwich Admits To $122K Tax Fraud The 32-year-old owner of three restaurants in Northern Westchester and Fairfield County has admitted to scheming the Internal Revenue Service out of more than $122,000. Stamford resident Steven Cioffi paid employees under the table and skimmed cash off restaurant books, according to John H. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England. Cioffi owned 50 percent of Nepperhan Restaurants Group, Inc., doing business as ReNapoli Pizza, in Old Greenwich, and Pinocchio Pizza in Pound Ridge, which …

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by Joe Lombardi
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New Scam Alert Issued By Police In Fairfield County New Scam Alert Issued By Police In Fairfield County
New Scam Alert Issued By Police In Fairfield County Police in Fairfield County are warning the public about a recent rash of telephone scam making the rounds in the area, involving the immediate payment of taxes with gift cards. Investigators in Greenwich issued an alert regarding the latest round of phone fraudsters, who have alleged to be from the Internal Revenue Service, attempting to invoke immediate payment of allegedly overdue taxes. According to officials, the scammers have been calling local residents, claiming that an arrest is imminent if payment is not made immediately through the purchase of pre-paid debit cards and gift cards. …

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by Zak Failla
News
Nigerian National Admits To Phishing Scheme Victimizing CT School Employees Nigerian National Admits To Phishing Scheme Victimizing CT School Employees
Nigerian National Admits To Phishing Scheme Victimizing CT School Employees A Nigerian national who entered the country on a visitor’s visa that expired two years ago is facing a mandatory prison term after admitting to his role in a phishing scheme that victimized educators in Connecticut. Daniel Adekunle Ojo, a citizen of Nigeria residing in Durham, N.C., has pleaded guilty in New Haven District Court to fraud and identity theft charges that date back two years aago to a scheme to obtain identifying information of school employees both in Connecticut, and elsewhere, and later filing false tax returns in the names of his victims. In February last year, an employee…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
New York Sues Trump, Children For $2.8M, Seeks To Dissolve Foundation New York Sues Trump, Children For $2.8M, Seeks To Dissolve Foundation
New York Sues Trump, Children For $2.8M, Seeks To Dissolve Foundation The Donald J. Trump Foundation and the Trump family engaged in self-dealing and illegal coordination with the presidential campaign and committed numerous violations of campaign finance laws, the New York State attorney general’s office said in a lawsuit filed Thursday on the president's 72nd birthday. Named in the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood against the Donald J. Trump Foundation are its directors, Donald J. Trump, Donald J. Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump. The lawsuit alleges a pattern of persistent illegal conduct, occurring over more than a decade, that…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Stamford Trash-Hauling Owner Agrees To Pay $356K For Failing To File Taxes Stamford Trash-Hauling Owner Agrees To Pay $356K For Failing To File Taxes
Stamford Trash-Hauling Owner Agrees To Pay $356K For Failing To File Taxes A 71-year-old trash-hauling owner is facing prison time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines after pleading guilty to failing to file tax returns for more than a decade in the Stamford area and parts of Westchester County. John Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced this week that Stamford resident Wayne Margarum has pleaded guilty to two counts of willful failure to file an income tax return after failing to do so for his business dating back to 2004. According to court documents and statements made in court, for more than 40 years, Margarum …

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by Zak Failla
News
Fairfield County Man Must Pay $500K For Income Tax Offense Fairfield County Man Must Pay $500K For Income Tax Offense
Fairfield County Man Must Pay $500K For Income Tax Offense A Norwalk bookkeeper has been sentenced to probation and must pay back nearly a half million dollars after pleading guilty to tax fraud - largely as a result of gambling - in district court. John Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced the sentencing of Eddie Chan, 58, who will be subject to five years probation and must pay approximately $500,000 in restitution for his former employer following a guilty plea for filing false tax returns last year. Chan was employed at a private art firm in Manhattan, according to court records, and between 2013 and 2015…

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by Zak Failla
News
Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion
Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion Ira Malkin, 48, of Hamden, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Feb. 28 before Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to one count of tax evasion. According to court documents and statements made in court, Malkin worked as a principal salesman for Good Copy Printing Center Inc. (GCP), a printing company located in New Haven.  Malkin earned substantial commissions from GCP based on sales made to customers. Between approximately 2003 and 2012, GCP paid many of Malkin’s personal expenses. With Malkin’s consent, GCP reduced Malkin’s commissions by the…

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by Jon Craig
Neighbors
Senators Fight To Save Tax Break For Newman's Own Foundation In Westport Senators Fight To Save Tax Break For Newman's Own Foundation In Westport
Senators Fight To Save Tax Break For Newman's Own Foundation In Westport WESTPORT, Conn. — Over the past 25 years, Newman's Own Foundation in Westport has donated $512 million to charities. But a provision in ongoing federal budget negotiations could force the nonprofit founded by actor Paul Newman to close its doors due to a disastrous tax. U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) have written to Senate leaders for help for the nonprofit. When Paul Newman died in 2008, ownership of the actor’s eponymous food company, Newman’s Own, was turned over to the nonprofit foundation. It donates 100 percent of its profits after taxes to charity.  Because…

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by Daily Voice