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Press Release

Rochester Man Sentenced For Obstructing Tax Laws

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York

CONTACT:           Barbara Burns
PHONE:                (716) 843-5817
FAX:                       (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Anthony Cerame, 65, of Fairport, N.Y., who was convicted of obstructing the administration of the tax laws, was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $270,335. by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.

Assistant United States Attorney John J. Field, who handled 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 sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office.

Updated December 2, 2014