Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Tax Laws

          ROCHESTER, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Anthony Cerame, 64, of Fairport, N.Y., pleaded guilty to obstructing the administration of the tax laws, before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant United States Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that Cerame engaged in a decades-long campaign to avoid paying approximately $270,000 federal income taxes, and sought to impede Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service from performing their duties. Among other acts, the defendant used trusts and aliases to hold assets, concealed income, claimed improper deductions, instructed witnesses to withhold information from the government, and destroyed evidence. After Cerame learned of the government’s criminal investigation, he paid $200,000 of his unpaid tax obligation.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of  Special Agent-in-Charge Toni M. Weirauch.