Walpole Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to Filing a False Tax Return

BOSTON – A Walpole man has agreed to plead guilty in connection with failing to report income from his landscaping business to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

Stephen L. Petrucci, 56, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of filing a false tax return. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court. According to the terms of the plea agreement, the government will recommend a sentence of two years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine and restitution to the IRS of $726,789. 

According to the charging document, Petrucci owes more than $700,000 in income taxes to the IRS after he failed to report income from his landscaping business on his federal tax returns for tax years 2012 through 2017. 

The charging statute provides a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.