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Press Release

Kankakee Businessman Enters Guilty Pleas To Filing False Tax Returns And Structuring

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of Illinois

Urbana, Ill. – The owner of ABC Disposal Inc., a Kankakee waste management company, has entered pleas of guilty to six counts of filing false income tax returns and one count of structuring cash withdrawals to avoid detection by the Internal Revenue Service. Joseph S. Deno appeared in federal court in Urbana on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013, and pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal. Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 9, 2014.

During court proceedings and in documents filed with the court, Deno, the sole shareholder, owner and operator of ABC Disposal, Inc., admitted that from 2005 through 2010, in order to lower his individual gross income, he withheld financial records from his tax preparer. This resulted in under-reporting his company’s gross receipts by approximately $1.7 million for the tax years from 2005 through 2010, and underpayment of his federal income taxes.

Deno also pled guilty to one count of structuring cash withdrawals from three bank accounts on 22 occasions over a one-year period, from March 2010 to March 2011. In 2010, Deno decided to retire and wanted to access the funds he had hidden from his accountant and the IRS. To avoid a Currency Transaction Report from being prepared by his bank and sent to federal authorities, he withdrew cash from his accounts 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.

According to court documents, Deno has already paid full restitution to the IRS in the amount of $905,261, for unpaid income taxes, plus interest and penalties.

Each count of filing a false income tax return carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and fines of up to $100,000. For unlawful money structuring, the penalty is up to 10 years in prison. The government is also seeking a money judgment against Deno in the amount of $190,700.

The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division conducted the case investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller is representing the government in the prosecution of the case.


Updated June 22, 2015