A New Bedford man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for evading taxes on income he earned as a commercial fisherman.
Joaquin Sosa, a resident of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was sentenced on December 1, 2023 by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Sosa was also ordered to pay restitution of $520,415, a sum that represents the tax loss caused by his actions.
According to the government, Sosa worked as a commercial fisherman and deckhand operating primarily out of the Port of New Bedford. Despite receiving approximately $1.9 million in income between 2012 and 2021, Sosa did not file tax returns reporting the income and did not pay the substantial income taxes owed on the income he earned.
Sosa’s scheme to evade taxes was elaborate, involving the use of false identities and cashing his paychecks at check-cashing businesses. He used the cash to fund his personal lifestyle, rather than paying the taxes he owed.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor Wild of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit, as well as Trial Attorney Ezra Spiro and Acting Chief John Kane of the Tax Division.
The investigation was led by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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