Dayton, Ohio, Area Home Builder Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Return

WASHINGTON – Roy W. Bradford pleaded guilty in federal district court in Dayton, Ohio, to willfully filing a false tax return for 2004, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

According to court documents, Bradford owned and operated Bradford Builders out of his residence in Ludlow Falls, Ohio. Bradford Builders built wooden frames for residential construction. 

For the 2003 and 2004 tax years, Bradford filed false Forms 1099 that deliberately inflated the amounts that he paid to his independent contractor crew chiefs.  Bradford then used these inflated amounts from the Forms 1099 to inflate the labor costs on his 2003 and 2004 individual income tax returns.  Bradford also improperly deducted as business expenses many of the costs incurred in constructing his personal residence.  Bradford also understated his business income by not reporting money he received for work performed for certain clients. 

In addition to falsifying his own tax information, Bradford used false tax ID numbers on the Forms 1099 that he issued to workers who did contract work for him. He also provided false information to an IRS agent during the course of an audit and to another IRS agent conducting the criminal investigation.  Bradford admitted that he caused a tax loss of $379,852 and owes restitution of at least that amount.

Judge Thomas M. Rose, who is presiding over the matter, set a sentencing date of Jan. 7, 2011. Bradford faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by IRS - Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jorge Almonte and Jeffrey B. Bender.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax.