New Bedford Fisherman Charged with Tax Evasion

A federal grand jury in Providence, Rhode Island, returned an indictment charging Jorge Cazarin of New Bedford, Massachusetts, with five counts of tax evasion and five counts of willful failure to file tax returns for 2016 through 2020.

According to the indictment, Cazarin worked for a fishing company operating out of New Bedford and received substantial compensation. However, it is alleged that he did not file individual tax returns or pay all the taxes owed on that income, evading tax on between $900,000 and $1.9 million in income.

Cazarin is not the only one charged in the case. Six other commercial fishermen from Rhode Island and Massachusetts face similar charges, including Christopher Garraty of Newport and East Greenwich, Rhode Island, who was charged with three counts of tax evasion and three counts of willful failure to file for 2016 through 2018, and a fourth count of tax evasion related to taxes he allegedly owed for 2007 through 2011.

Wojciech Kaminski of West Warwick, Rhode Island, was charged with five counts of tax evasion for 2014 and 2016 through 2019 and four counts of willful failure to file tax returns for 2016 through 2019. Brian Kobus of Durham, Connecticut, was charged with five counts of tax evasion for 2017 through 2021. Rodolfo Membreno of Fall River, Massachusetts, was charged with six counts of tax evasion for 2012 and 2017 through 2021 and four counts of willful failure to file tax returns for 2017 through 2019 and 2021.

John Doe of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was charged with six counts of tax evasion for 2016 through 2021 and three counts of willful failure to file tax returns for 2016 through 2018. Miguel Cruz Rubio of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Elizabethtown, North Carolina, was charged with four counts of tax evasion for 2016 through 2019.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each evasion count and one year in prison for each failure to file a tax return charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Chief John Kane and Trial Attorneys Samuel Bean, Matthew Cofer, Christina Grimes, and Ezra Spiro of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the cases. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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