An indictment was unsealed today in
Fort Pierce, Fla., charging Joseph Rizzuti with one count of corruptly
endeavoring to obstruct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and four counts of
wire fraud, the Justice Department and the IRS announced. The indictment was
returned by a grand jury on Nov. 29, 2012.
According to the indictment,
Rizzuti, the owner of Beacon Accounting Services in Palm City, Fla., interfered
with the IRS’s ability to collect taxes owed by two clients, stole payments
from those clients intended for the IRS, and made misrepresentations to those
clients and to the IRS. Rizzuti allegedly stole approximately $265,000 from one
client and approximately $23,500 from another client, money that the clients
gave him to pay to the IRS.
An indictment merely alleges that
crimes have been committed and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Rizzuti faces a maximum
potential sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the four wire fraud counts
and a maximum potential sentence of 3 years for the obstruction count. He is
also subject to fines and mandatory restitution if convicted.
This case was investigated by
special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation and Treasury Inspector General
for Tax Administration. Trial Attorneys Justin Gelfand and Rebecca Perlmutter
of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax
Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure
Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.
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