Donald Cariati Jr., 45, of Meriden, is going to prison for lying to the IRS, cooking the books, and trying to cheat the tax system out of more than a million dollars. U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea sentenced Cariati today in Hartford to 12 months and one day behind bars, followed by one year of supervised release, for obstructing the due administration of federal tax laws.
Cariati, the owner and operator of Cariati Developers Inc. (CDI), a snowplow and hauling company based in Wallingford, ran a rigged payroll scheme between 2013 and 2017. He paid employees with company checks but falsely labeled them as independent contractors or subcontractors to dodge withholding taxes. Yet he never filed the required IRS Forms 1099 for those workers. Worse, he told some workers they were being paid off the books — a direct admission the payments were hidden from federal authorities.
When the IRS launched an audit of CDI in late 2015, Cariati didn’t come clean — he doubled down on the fraud. He produced fake invoices dated to 2013, claiming they proved the workers were legitimate subcontractors. These documents were handed to an IRS revenue agent, a move that turned a tax audit into a criminal investigation for obstruction.
The deception didn’t stop there. In 2014, CDI paid for goods tied to Cariati’s personal cigarette boat. During the audit, Cariati had his accountant forge an invoice to make the purchase look like a legitimate business expense. The feds weren’t fooled. Investigators peeled back the layers and exposed the shell game.
Judge Shea ordered Cariati to pay a $95,000 fine and restitution of exactly $1,077,048.99. On the day of sentencing, Cariati paid $1 million toward that obligation — a partial nod to accountability, but hardly erasing years of deliberate fraud. The remaining balance must be paid in full under court supervision.
Cariati, who remains free on bond, must report to federal prison in 90 days. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Laraia. He pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing the IRS on February 28, 2020. The message from the DOJ is clear: fake invoices and off-the-books pay won’t fly when the feds come knocking.
Related Federal Cases
- Ex-FBI Agent Lustyik Pleads Guilty To Bribery And Obstruction · Utah
- Conn. Advisor Rafal Pleads Guilty to SEC Obstruction · Massachusetts
- Fairfield Landscaper Donald Biagi Jr. Cops to Tax Evasion · Connecticut
- Manchester Store Owner Pleads Guilty to IRS Interference · Connecticut
- Frye Admits Role in $583K IRS Scam · New York
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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