Kankakee Businessman Sentenced To Prison For Filing False Income Tax Returns And Structuring

Urbana, Ill. – The owner of ABC Disposal Inc., a Kankakee waste management company, was sentenced late yesterday to a prison sentence for filing false income tax returns and structuring cash withdrawals to avoid detection by the IRS. Joseph S. Deno, 67, was ordered to serve 12 months and one day in prison, followed by 12 months of home confinement during a  one-year term of supervised release. Deno has already paid full restitution to the IRS in the amount of $905,261, for unpaid income taxes, plus interest and penalties. In addition, Deno was ordered to forfeit $190,700 of structured funds to the government. U.S. District Judge Michael P. McCuskey advised Deno to report on May 21, 2014, to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence. 
           
Deno pled guilty on Sept. 6, 2013, to six counts of filing false income tax returns and one count of structuring. Deno, the sole shareholder, owner and operator of ABC Disposal, Inc., admitted that for tax years 2005 through 2010, he withheld financial records from his tax preparer. This resulted in under-reporting his company’s gross receipts and underpayment of his federal income taxes. 
           
Deno also pled guilty to structuring cash withdrawals from three bank accounts over a one-year period, from March 2010 to March 2011. To avoid a Currency Transaction Report from being prepared by his bank and sent to federal authorities, Deno withdrew funds he had hidden from his accountant and the IRS in amounts just under the $10,000 threshold, for a total of $190,700. Financial institutions are required to complete and file CTRs with the IRS for any currency transactions in excess of $10,000.       
           
The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division conducted the case investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller prosecuted the case.