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Anthony Valentino, of Palm City, Florida, pleaded guilty in Bridgeport district court earlier to one count of tax evasion after attempting to avoid paying more than $300,000 in income taxes, U.S. Attorney John Durham announced. This week, he was sentenced to nine months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release. Valentino must also pay a $10,000 fine.
Durham said that Valentino, 76, is a real estate investor with properties in New York and Connecticut, including a 100-unit apartment complex in Naugatuck.
From 2011 through 2013, Valentino deposited more than $1.1 million of real estate receipts into his personal bank accounts in both states, though he failed to report those receipts on his federal tax returns,
During those years, Valentino only reported $42,815 in taxable income on his tax returns, and failed to report $1,008,125 in taxable income. As a result, he evaded payment of $302,449 in income taxes, Durham said. When he deposited the cash, he did so in transactions under $10,000 to avoid filing an official Currency Transaction Report.
Valentino has paid the U.S. Treasury $302,339, but still owes “substantial” interest and penalties. He has also agreed to forfeit $100,000 related to the way he structured his cash deposits. He remains released on a $50,000 bond and is required to report to prison on Oct. 8.
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