United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

MERIDEN TAX PREPARER SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR FILING FALSE RETURNS FOR CUSTOMERS, SELF

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOHN WASZCZAK, JR., 50, of Cook Avenue, Meriden, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Peter C. Dorsey in New Haven to 10 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release.  On September 21, 2009, WASZCZAK pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting in the filing of a false tax return, one count of tax evasion, and one count of corruptly obstructing the due administration of the Internal Revenue Service.

According to court documents and statements made in court, WASZCZAK was the owner and operator of H&J Tax Service, a tax preparation business based in Meriden.  Servicing primarily individual taxpayers, WASZCZAK prepared approximately three thousand tax returns each year for the 2003 through 2006 tax years.  WASZCZAK has admitted that he aided and abetted in the preparation of hundreds of returns for his clients using various fraudulent methods, including the taking of fraudulent business deductions and overstating clients’ charitable contributions.

The IRS has conducted audits of a sample of the approximately 12,000 tax returns prepared by WASZCZAK for his clients for the 2003 through 2006 tax years.  The total tax loss to the Government for 268 false tax returns that were audited was $548,495.

WASZCZAK also has admitted that he attempted to evade his own personal income tax obligations by deliberately understating his gross receipts and overstating his own charitable contributions and gambling losses.  During the course of a civil IRS audit, WASZCZAK submitted to the IRS falsified Win/Loss statements from Foxwoods Casino that reflected greater losses for both him and his wife than they had actually incurred at the casino.

The total tax loss due to WASZCZAK’s attempts to evade his tax liability for the tax years 2003 through 2006 is $97,396.

WASZCZAK must resolve his personal tax liability with the IRS, and WASZCZAK’s clients are responsible for resolving their own tax liabilities.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah P. Karwan.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov