[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Jason Rigoli, the owner of Granite Construction Services, of Peculiar, Montana plead guilty to one count of tax fraud was. He did not file any personal, business, or employment tax returns from 2013 to 2020.
Rigoli used his business bank accounts to pay for personal expenses, such as travel, restaurant meals, and liquor. He also paid his employees in cash to avoid payroll taxes. When the IRS executed a search warrant at Granite Construction they found false returns that were not filed with the IRS, with labels such as “Fake/High,” and “Real 2014”.
In addition, Rigoli applied for two Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the Small Business Administration for the same business but under two different names. He received one loan but was denied the other, which he applied for under a shell company with his parents’ address as the business address.
From 2014 to the date of his sentencing, Rigoli had paid only $139 in federal or state income or employment taxes. His lack of books and records, and because he mostly used cash and comingled funds, the IRS was forced to reconstruct the company’s books using bank records and documents recovered from the business. The IRS gave Rigoli the benefit of the doubt, and as a result, the total tax loss was relatively low. Rigoli owes $138,455 in restitution, and he was sentenced to one-year and one-day in prison.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][us_image image=”1015”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
