Mattapan Co-Owner Charged With $10M Gold Scam

BOSTON – Claudio Poles, 78, of Dorchester, was charged with four counts of filing false tax returns in connection with a scheme to use millions of dollars of unreported receipts of his Mattapan plumbing and heating supply company to buy gold bars.

Poles, co-owner of Mattapan Plumbing and Heating Supply Company, allegedly failed to accurately disclose the company’s gross business receipts to its tax preparer, who prepared the company’s tax returns using the false information Poles provided.

The charging documents allege that Poles used some of the unreported gross receipts to purchase more than $10 million of gold and silver bars for himself from bullion dealers. To conceal the nature of the purchases, Poles allegedly described the purchases in the memo section of the checks as for “Boilers,” “Materials” and “P&H Supp.”

The scheme allegedly continued from 2019 to 2022, with Poles falsely and fraudulently reporting losses on his individual tax returns and omitting personal income that he received from the business by purchasing the gold and silver bars.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement.

“The defendant’s actions were a blatant attempt to cheat the tax system and line his own pockets with gold,” said Levy. “We will continue to work tirelessly to hold individuals accountable for their crimes and ensure that those who try to cheat the system face the consequences.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie A. Queenin of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.