Construction Company Owner Convicted of Two Counts of Filing False Corporate Tax Returns

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today that construction company owner Tomas Olazabal, of Fresh Meadows, N.Y., was convicted of two counts of filing false corporate tax returns for his corporation, Tupac Construction Corporation.  Olazabal was convicted by a jury sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

According to the evidence admitted at trial, Olazabal was the sole owner and operator of Tupac Construction.  Between 2006 and 2008, Olazabal cashed a large number of checks representing gross receipts to Tupac Construction at a commercial check cashing service.  Olazabal did not tell his tax return preparer about the cashed checks and failed to report those gross receipts on Tupac Construction’s 2007 and 2008 corporate tax returns.

Olazabal faces a statutory maximum potential sentence of six years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Tax Division commended the IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agents who investigated the case, as well as Trial Attorneys Steve Descano and Mark Kotila of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.