Enfield Restaurant Owner to Serve Time in Federal Prison for Tax Evasion

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GEORGE CARABASE, 41, of Enfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for tax evasion.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2010 and 2011 CARABASE failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service approximately $550,000 in gross receipts generated by Buona Vita Restaurant, a restaurant he operates in Enfield.

During the investigation of this matter, CARABASE admitted to an undercover IRS agent that he understated the restaurant’s gross receipts on his income tax returns and provided false numbers to his accountant.

On February 22, 2016, CARABASE pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion, admitting that he evaded payment of a total of $183,282 in income taxes when filing his income tax returns for 2010 and 2011.

To date, CARABASE has paid $60,000 in back taxes.  Judge Meyer ordered him to pay an additional $149,926 in back taxes and interest.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Cherry.