January 8, 2004

PRESS RELEASE

MEDFORD MAN SENTENCED FOR CONSPIRACY AND TAX FRAUD

Boston, MA... A Medford man was sentenced late yesterday in federal court for conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and of filing a false personal tax return.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Joseph A. Galasso, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that ROLAND JOY, age 36, of 189 Boston Avenue, Medford, Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel to 4 months' imprisonment, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release, the first 4 months of which are to be served in home detention. Judge Zobel also ordered JOY to pay restitution to the Massachusetts Division of Employment and Training for illegal unemployment benefits.

JOY was convicted by a trial jury on charges of conspiracy and filing of false tax return on October 15, 2003. Evidence presented during the six-day trial proved that from 1993 through 1995, Stoneham Towing, Inc., located in Stoneham, paid cash wages "under the table" to JOY and other employees, thereby avoiding a significant amount of corporate payroll tax as well as employees' personal income taxes. The evidence also proved that JOY and others, including the company's principals, conspired to obstruct an IRS audit and to file false tax returns. JOY filed false returns for the years 1993, 1994, and 1995 that failed to report the wages received in cash..

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, with the assistance of investigators from the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild in Sullivan's Economic Crimes Unit and by Timothy D. Belevetz, DOJ Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Press Contact: Samantha Martin, (617) 748-3139