Tag Archives: tax evasion
Federal memo estimates more than $176M of Atlantic lobster catch unreported, untaxed
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans suspects hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of lobster is caught in Atlantic Canadian waters each year but never reported to authorities, raising both tax evasion and conservation implications in the country’s largest fishery. An internal memo in August to DFO’s deputy minister said it’s estimated that between 10 and 30 per cent of lobster landings in the region are unreported, and the department said in a statement it is working to map out criminal networks and money laundering in the sector. “It’s mind-boggling,” said Osborne Burke, the president of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, which represents about 150 lobster buyers and processors and has urged a crackdown on unreported cash sales. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:44
Midcoast man again charged with violating Maine’s baby eel fishing laws
A Waldoboro man who nine years ago was convicted of tax evasion and underreporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in eel fishing income has been charged again with violating Maine’s elver fishing laws. Paul J. Griffin Jr., 52, has been charged with selling juvenile eels, also known as elvers or glass eels, for cash, which is a violation of laws implemented in 2013. Despite the recent charges against Griffin and a handful of others, Maine has had a relatively low number of similar violations for the past decade. It’s been a different story across the border in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where an alleged spree of elver poaching prompted Canada to shut down the fishery this spring. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:46
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
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
Bureau of Prisons: ‘Codfather’ Carlos Rafael transferred from prison to ‘community confinement’
Community confinement indicates Rafael, 68, is either in home confinement or a Residential Reentry Center (RRC, or halfway house), according to Taylor, which is overseen by the BOP’s Philadelphia Residential Reentry Management Office. According to the BOP’s inmate database, the projected date of his release from custody is March 4, 2021. Rafael was sentenced to 46 months in prison in September 2017 after pleading guilty to 28 offenses, including conspiracy, false labeling of fish, bulk cash smuggling, tax evasion and falsifying federal records. At the time his attorney William Keating requested he serve his sentence at FMC Devens, which is a federal prison for male inmates that need specialized or long-term medical or mental health care. >click to read< 15:30
Day’s of Reckoning – Feds seek prison time for Carlos Rafael; sentencing Monday, Tuesday
More than a year and half after “The Codfather” was arrested, the fate of Carlos Rafael and 13 of his fishing permits will be decided Monday and Tuesday. In March, Rafael, 65, pleaded guilty to falsifying fishing quota, bulk cash smuggling and tax evasion. His sentencing was originally scheduled for June 27. A few delays later, the case is set to wrap up Monday and Tuesday in front of Judge William Young in U.S. District Court in Boston. The government and the defense each filed to the court Wednesday their recommendation for Rafael’s sentencing. Here’s a summary of the nearly 70 pages of documents. click here to read the story 07:51
‘The Codfather’ case puts federal fishing regulations to the test – For 30 years, Carlos Rafael, better known in New England fishing circles as “the Codfather,” has brazenly billed himself as the industry’s most successful outlaw. click here to read the story 13:19
Despite guilty plea, ‘Codfather’ continues to fish
New England fishermen are wondering how the fishing fleet owned by New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael continues to fish nearly five months after he pleaded guilty on March 30 in federal district court in Boston to 28 offenses, including conspiracy, false labeling of fish, bulk cash smuggling, tax evasion and falsifying federal records. Those vessels include many Rafael agreed to forfeit in his plea deal for their role in his scheme to sell fish he didn’t have enough quota to catch, under the name of species for which he had enough quota. The fishing year starts May 1 and Rafael won’t be sentenced until Sep. 25 and 26. Many are angry that Rafael’s fleet has been allowed to operate through the summer months when fishermen traditionally catch most of their fish. click here to read the story 09:51
Jockeying to control Rafael’s fishing rights ramps up
John Bullard can’t escape Carlos Rafael. People stop the Northeast Regional Administrator for NOAA in the hallway daily trying to pry any information they can about 13 Rafael fishing permits that may be surrendered as part of a plea agreement the New Bedford fishing tycoon agreed to at the end of March. “People come up to talk to me every day on this case. It’s of intense interest,” Bullard said. “I’m looking forward to a day when nobody talks to me about this case.” Sentencing for Rafael is scheduled for July 28. The date has already been delayed once, but it’s likely when the fate of the permits will be decided. The date hasn’t prevented politicians and organizations from already jockeying for position to acquire the permits up for forfeiture after Rafael pleaded guilty to 28 counts including falsifying fishing quotas, false labeling, conspiracy and tax evasion. click here to read the story 07:43
Fishing boat captain from East Lyme pleads guilty in tax evasion case
Peter P. Torres, a commercial fishing boat captain from East Lyme, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to failing to file tax returns on approximately $1.27 million he earned between 2006 and 2011. Torres, 47, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty in New Haven before Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall to one count of attempted tax evasion. According to the office of U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly and court documents, from 2006 to 2011 Torres failed to file tax returns ,,, Read the article here 09:32
Feds offer more details on illegal lobster sales – possible investigation into tax evasion by lobstermen
The former manager of one of the state’s largest lobster cooperatives had a clandestine arrangement with certain members of that organization to buy lobsters from them in cash and evade income taxes, according to papers filed by the federal government in court. Read the rest here 00:01
