Walpole Man Sentenced for Filing a False Tax Return

BOSTON – A Walpole man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with failing to report income from his landscaping business to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

Stephen L. Petrucci, 57, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to one year and a day in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $10,000 and restitution to the IRS in the amount of $633,327. In November 2019, Petrucci pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return.

Petrucci owed more than $630,000 in income taxes to the IRS after he failed to report approximately $1.8 million in income from his landscaping business on his federal tax returns for tax years 2012 through 2017. To conceal his scheme, Petrucci utilized bank accounts at three different banks or directly cashed customer checks without first depositing them. He also maintained two sets of books: one to track business receipts deposited into his corporate account and one to track gross business receipts. He further withheld information concerning his gross business receipts from his tax preparers. 

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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.