A Massachusetts man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for an employment tax scheme and making a false statement at an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hearing.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Mauricio Baiense, formerly of Quincy, owned and operated Contract Framing Builders Inc. (CFB), a Medford, Massachusetts, construction business. Baiense was responsible for paying to the IRS the payroll taxes withheld from CFB employees’ wages and for filing the quarterly employment tax returns. From approximately 2013 through 2017, Baiense facilitated having approximately $11 million worth of checks drawn on CFB’s corporate bank account to purported subcontractors, which were in fact nominee entities controlled by him. Baiense then directed others to cash the checks at a check cashing business and used the money to operate an “off-the-books” cash payroll for CFB’s employees. Baiense did not report the cash wages to the IRS and did not pay employment taxes on wages paid to employees in cash. Baiense also assisted in the preparation of at least one fraudulent employment tax return that understated the actual wages paid to CFB’s employees.
When questioned under oath at an OSHA interview regarding a fatal workplace accident pertaining to an employee of Baiense’s company, Baiense made false statements to a federal investigator – falsely claiming that the deceased employee did not work for him.
In total, Baiense caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $2,824,577.45.
In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge William G. Young for the District of Massachusetts ordered Baiense to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $2,824,577.45 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts, Acting Regional Administrator Jeff Erskine of OSHA Region 1, Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Wlodyka of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s Boston Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone of the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General in Boston made the announcement.
IRS-CI, OSHA and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with assistance from the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
Assistant Chief Thomas F. Koelbl of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Tobin for the District of Massachusetts prosecuted the case.