Patrick Dandrea, Tax Fraud, New York 2013

A 55-year-old man from Rochester has pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns, facing up to 6 years in prison and a $200,000 fine.

Patrick Dandrea, 55, of Rochester, N.Y., pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns before U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci, a Rochester federal court announced today.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 on each count.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who is handling the case, the defendant was awarded a contract from Erie County in 2006 to remove damaged trees and branches following the October Storm. As a result of this contract, Dandrea received over $5,000,000 in payments which he failed to report on his 2006 and 2007 Federal Income Tax Returns.

As a result, the IRS incurred a tax loss of over $460,000. In addition to being responsible for the tax loss, the defendant is also liable for interest payments and penalties of over $265,000 going back to 2006.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Toni Weirauch, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 26, 2013 at 10 a.m. before Judge Geraci. The Rochester man will likely face a significant financial and prison sentence for his white-collar crime.