A New York man has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by hiding money received from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Aniello Strocchia, owner and operator of an auto repair shop in Maspeth, was found guilty of evading approximately $1 million in taxes over a five-year period.
According to court documents and statements made during the trial, Strocchia participated in a scheme from 2013 to 2017 in which he cashed more than $1.3 million in checks from his auto repair shop on check sales businesses. Instead of depositing these funds into the store’s bank account, Strocchia hid this income from his tax preparers. As a result, the tax returns filed for his business and personal accounts underreport store gross receipts, general business income, and gross personal income.
In addition to underreporting his income, Strocchia failed to pay the full amount of taxes he reported as due on his returns. Instead of meeting his tax obligations, he used the proceeds to finance a lavish lifestyle, including buying a fleet of luxury cars, acquiring a second home, and spending nearly $500,000 on numerous home improvements.
The total tax loss to the IRS as a result of Strocchia’s actions amounted to $989,976.
In addition to the 20-month prison sentence, US District Judge Hector Gonzalez of the Eastern District of New York ordered Strocchia to serve two years of supervised release after his prison term. Strocchia was also ordered to pay $989,976 in restitution to the United States.
Strocchia’s sentencing announcement was made by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, and Attorney Matthew Cofer of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
