Press Release
Kent County Man Charged With Federal Wire Fraud And Tax Crimes
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Michigan
The five-count indictment alleges that Brian John Scalabrino, formerly of East Grand Rapids, embezzled more than $250,000 from his former employer, and filed false tax returns
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that a federal grand jury charged Brian John Scalabrino, 46, with wire fraud for embezzling more than $250,000 from his former employer, Metal Standard Corporation of Holland, Michigan. He was also charged with four counts of filings false tax returns. He was arrested on these charges and appeared in court today.
The wire fraud charge carries a possible prison term of 20 years. The tax charges carry a possible prison term of three years each.
The indictment alleges that Scalabrino, who was the former Director of Finance for Metal Standard Corporation, embezzled money by altering his payroll records to show a negative federal income tax withholding amount for most pay periods. This fraudulently raised his income most pay periods so that his net income exceeded his reported gross income. He used this method to fraudulently increase his annual pay each year.
The indictment further alleges that Scalabrino created false IRS Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statements which showed fictitious amounts of federal tax withheld from his paycheck. He submitted these false Forms W-2 to the IRS when he filed his federal income tax returns. Scalabrino also wired additional money from Metal Standard Corporation to the United States Treasury to pay the federal income taxes that had not been withheld from his paychecks. Finally, the indictment alleges that Scalabrino filed four false tax returns for each tax year from 2013 through 2016.
The Criminal Investigation section of the Internal Revenue Service is handling this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler is handling the prosecution.
The charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
END
Updated October 11, 2019
Topic
Tax
Component