Cape Cod Man Sentenced For Filing A False Tax Return For His Debt Collection Business

BOSTON – A Cape Cod man was sentenced today for filing a false tax return.

William Burr, 48, of Cataumet, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. Burr was also ordered to pay $101,327 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. In January 2013, Burr pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return.

Burr was a 50% owner of a debt collection business. During 2003, the business operated under the names Pilgrim Financial LLC and Excel Acquisitions, LLC. Between January 1 and December 31, 2003, the gross receipts earned by the business totaled $726,226, but Burr did not provide his tax preparer with information necessary to determine a correct gross receipts figure for the business. Consequently, in April 2008, Burr filed a federal partnership tax return for the year 2003, falsely reporting that the gross receipts or sales of the business in 2003 were $246,731. By filing the false return, Burr evaded the payment of approximately $101,327 in taxes.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina E. Barclay of Ortiz’s Pubic Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.