The president of a landscaping business based out of Belle Mead, N.J., pleaded guilty today to income tax evasion.
Angelo Dimeglio, a resident of Lawrenceville, NJ, entered his plea in Newark federal court before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares. Dimeglio pleaded guilty to one count of personal income tax evasion pertaining to his 2011 tax return. Sentencing is scheduled for June 11.
“As we continue with this year’s filing season, today’s guilty plea by Mr. Dimeglio should serve as a strong reminder that IRS-Criminal Investigation takes criminal violations of our nation’s tax laws very seriously,” stated Jonathan D. Larsen, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office. “Those Americans who file accurate, honest and timely returns can be assured that the government will hold accountable those who do not.”
According to court documents and statements made in court:
Dimeglio was the president of Caliper Farms Nursery, LLC, a landscaping business based in Belle Mead, N.J. Caliper Farms Nursery maintained business bank accounts into which customer payments were supposed to be deposited. Dimeglio had sole control and access to these business bank accounts.
In order to conceal Caliper Farms Nursery true income, Dimeglio cashed and/or deposited customer checks into his personal bank account or the bank account of family members, rather than depositing them into the Caliper Farms Nursery business bank account. Dimeglio also issued Caliper Farms Nursery checks payable to himself and/or family members, and deposited those checks into his personal bank account or the bank account of family members. Dimeglio also provided false information to his tax preparer for the preparation of his tax returns.
For the 2011 tax year, Dimeglio’s tax return only reported approximately $25,896 of taxable income. Dimeglio admitted that for the 2011 tax year, he failed to report approximately $520,968 of additional taxable income from Caliper Farms Nursey, upon which there was an additional tax due and owing to the government of approximately $158,619.
For sentencing purposes, Dimeglio’s relevant conduct will be taken into account by the court relating to his failure to properly report all of the income he received from Caliper Farms Nursery on his 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 individual income tax returns. In total, for the years 2009 through 2013, Dimeglio failed to report approximately $1,650,499 in additional income, upon which there was an additional tax due and owing to the government of approximately $429,898.
The count of tax evasion carries a statutory maximum prison sentence of five years and a statutory maximum fine equal to the greatest of: (1) $250,000; (2) twice the gross amount of any pecuniary gain derived from the offense; or (3) twice the gross amount of any pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense.
The investigation was conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Liu.
