Tag Archives: irs

Massachusetts Commercial Fisherman Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

A Massachusetts man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for evading taxes on income he earned as a commercial fisherman. According to court documents, Joaquin Sosa, of New Bedford, worked as a commercial fisherman and deckhand operating primarily out of the Port of New Bedford. Despite receiving approximately $1.9 million in income between 2012 and 2021, Sosa did not file tax returns reporting the income and did not pay the substantial income taxes owed on the income he earned. Sosa also worked under false identities over the years.  To further conceal the source and disposition of his income, Sosa cashed his paychecks from fishing companies at check-cashing businesses, at times using false identities, and used the cash to fund his personal lifestyle. In total, Sosa caused a tax loss to the IRS of $520,415. >>click to read<< 19:34

Kelly Bullis: Fishermen might hurt the IRS

Now here is a whopper of a fishing story! The current session of the U.S. Supreme Court has an interesting case on the docket. If they rule in favor of the plaintiffs, it could end up changing a long-standing rule from a prior Supreme Court ruling of almost 40 years ago which underpins the ability of the IRS to do its job. The case is about regulation of fishing boats. And the old Supreme Court doctrine at risk is called the “Chevron Deference Doctrine.” The “Chevron Deference Doctrine” was a coined name that came from a famous landmark case “Chevron USA Inc vs. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc” back in 1984. The Supreme Court set forth a legal test as to when a court should defer to an agency’s answer or interpretation, holding that such judicial deference is appropriate where the agency’s answer was not unreasonable, so long as Congress had not spoken directly to the precise issue at question. >>click to read<< 13:38

Massachusetts Commercial Fisherman Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today to evading taxes on income he earned as a commercial fisherman. According to court documents and statements made in court, John Doe of New Bedford, Massachusetts, worked as a commercial fisherman operating primarily out of the Port of New Bedford. Despite receiving approximately $1.9 million in income between 2012 and 2021, Doe did not file tax returns with the IRS and did not pay taxes on the income he earned. To conceal his earnings from the IRS, Doe cashed his paychecks from fishing companies at check-cashing businesses and then used the cash to fund his personal lifestyle. He also used stolen identities to cash the checks. In total, Doe caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $520,415. >>click to read<< 13:57

New Bedford fisherman sentenced for evading $431,000 in federal taxes

A New Bedford man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for evading more than $431,000 in federal income taxes over the course of seven years. Victor M. Cruz, 43, was sentenced on May 9 by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to time served (10 months in prison) followed by one year of supervised release. Cruz was also ordered to pay $431,835 in restitution to the IRS. On Feb. 12, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to three counts of tax evasion. >click to read< 09:11

Profitable Port of New Bedford draws IRS scrutiny of tax evading fishermen

As the nation’s number one commercial fishing port, New Bedford is very much on the radar. “The statistics we have cover the six New England states but really the fishing industry is significant in Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts, with, of course, New Bedford being the most valuable port not only in New England but in the United States,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Supervisory Special Agent Matthew Amsden. Seven New England fishermen, including three from New Bedford and one from Fall River, were charged last month with tax evasion and failing to file returns. The other three indicted were from Rhode Island, according to a press release from the IRS Criminal Investigation unit. >click to read< 07:40

New England fishermen, many from New Bedford, Fall River charged with tax offense

Federal grand juries in Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston returned separate indictments charging seven commercial fishermen with tax evasion and failing to file returns. According to the indictments, the commercial fishermen each worked for fishing companies operating primarily out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, or Point Judith, Rhode Island, and received substantial compensation. The companies allegedly paid the fishermen as independent contractors and documented that income by, among other things, filing Forms 1099 with the IRS that reported the funds paid to the fishermen. >click to read< 09;11

IRS waives penalties for qualifying farmers, fishermen

The IRS will waive the estimated tax penalty for any qualifying farmer or fisherman who files a 2018 federal income tax return and pays any tax due by Monday, April 15. The deadline is Wednesday, April 17, for taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts. The IRS is providing this relief because, due to certain rule changes, many farmers and fishermen may have difficulty accurately determining their tax liability by the March 1 deadline that usually applies to them. >click to read<09:36

Feds: Seafood company owner failed to pay taxes on $2 million

The head of a major seafood processing company based in Gloucester was indicted Friday on charges he failed to pay taxes on more than $2 million in income he earned between 2006 and 2009, according to the .  Jack Ventola, 68, who lives in Ipswich and serves as president and part owner of National Fish & Seafood Inc., located at 11-15 Parker St. and 159 E. Main St., was indicted on three counts of filing false tax returns and one count of conspiracy to defraud the federal Internal Revenue Service.  Read the article here 08:49

IRS will pay employees $70 million in bonuses – I wonder if NOAA/NMFS is still forking bonuses from the AFF?

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa says his office has  learned that the IRS is executing an agreement with the employees’ union on Wednesday to pay the bonuses. continued@oregonlive

Fraud, fish, and the blind IRS

Remember the LA Times story, “the fisherman and the tax man” (5/30/10) about fishermen seeking, and being denied, disaster relief after the BP oil spill? “I worked for an uncle last year who paid me in cash. The BP guy wanted my tax statements, but how can I pay taxes if everything I earned was in cash?” How did the IRS answer that question? Did it examine boat owner records, find any reporting violations, any evidence of worker  misclassification, the focus of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class that same year? No. The story isn’t that some bayou deck hands don’t pay taxes, the real story is that the IRS doesn’t enforce the tax laws in the fishing industry……….Read More

http://flamingofishing.newsvine.com/_news/2012/08/26/13488207-fraud-fish-and-the-blind-irs?threadId=3589966&commentId=71070340#c71070340