Mauricio Baiense, Tax Crimes and Making a False Statement, Massachusetts 2024

GRAVE CONSEQUENCES FOR TAX EVASION: Mauricio Baiense, a Massachusetts construction company owner, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a complex tax evasion scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Baiense, formerly of Quincy, owned and operated Contract Framing Builders Inc. (CFB), a Medford, Massachusetts, construction business. Baiense was responsible for paying to the IRS the payroll taxes withheld from CFB employees’ wages and for filing the quarterly employment tax returns. However, from approximately 2013 through 2017, Baiense facilitated having approximately $11 million worth of checks drawn on CFB’s corporate bank account to purported subcontractors, which were in fact nominee entities controlled by him.

Baiense then directed others to cash the checks at a check cashing business and used the money to operate an ‘off-the-books’ cash payroll for CFB’s employees. Baiense did not report the cash wages to the IRS and did not pay employment taxes on wages paid to employees in cash. Baiense also assisted in the preparation of at least one fraudulent employment tax return that understated the actual wages paid to CFB’s employees.

In total, Baiense caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $2,824,577.45. In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge William G. Young for the District of Massachusetts ordered Baiense to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $2,824,577.45 in restitution to the United States.

The case was investigated by IRS-CI, OSHA, and Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General. Assistant Chief Thomas F. Koelbl of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Tobin for the District of Massachusetts prosecuted the case.

Mauricio Baiense, of Quincy, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for tax crimes and making a false statement. The sentence was handed down on March 12, 2024, in the District of Massachusetts. Baiense was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $2,824,577.45 in restitution to the United States.

Baiense’s scheme caused a significant tax loss to the IRS, with a total of $2,824,577.45 in unpaid taxes. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of complying with tax laws and regulations.

Baiense’s company, Contract Framing Builders Inc. (CFB), operated in Medford, Massachusetts. The company’s owner, Baiense, was responsible for paying employment taxes to the IRS, but instead used the money to fund an ‘off-the-books’ cash payroll.

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