Holden Man Sentenced For Tax Evasion

BOSTON, MA – A Holden man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Worcester for committing tax evasion.

David L. Toppin, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 36 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release. Toppin also was ordered to pay $716,479 in restitution to the IRS. Toppin was found guilty following a five-day jury trial in January 2013.

Toppin, the sole owner and operator of Pelletizer Group, Inc., did not file federal income tax returns for 1997-1999 until 2006. In the returns, Toppin reported owing $227,199 in federal income taxes for 1997-1999. The evidence at trial showed that Toppin evaded payment of his taxes and tried to impede the IRS’s collection of his income tax by, among other things, placing real estate and checking accounts in his wife’s name and by misleading the IRS about the extent of his assets and income.

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 is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Wichers and Sandra Bower of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.