FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 2, 2009
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/MA
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SWAMPSCOTT MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO PERJURY
BOSTON, MA - A Swampscott man pleaded guilty today to perjuring himself before a U.S. District Court judge.
Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks and Susan Dukes, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Division, announced today that YALE STROGOFF, age 73, of Swampscott, MA, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to one count of perjury.
At today’s plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that had the case proceeded to trial the Government’s evidence would have proven that STROGOFF was the owner of a business engaged in the purchasing and reselling scrap metal. In March 2007, STROGOFF testified in a pre-trial evidentiary hearing before U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf concerning a criminal tax case. During that hearing, the issue of STROGOFF’s use of cash for illicit business purposes was raised. STROGOFF was asked several times and in several different ways about having had a practice of paying his company’s employees a portion of their weekly wages in cash, to which STROGOFF responded six times that he could not recall or remember. In fact, for a period of at least twenty years beginning in about 1980, and continuing until at least the early 2000s, STROGOFF’s employees were given weekly pay envelopes, often by STROGOFF personally, which contained both a check and cash. The amount of cash was significant, usually about 1/3 of the total weekly wages paid. The practice continued until the early 2000s when STROGOFF was first approached by the IRS in connection with its criminal investigation.
Judge Gorton scheduled sentencing for January 20, 2010. STROGOFF faces up to five years imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Loucks’ Economic Crimes Unit.
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