Dick Brocato and his wife Judith, owners of Superior Lawn Service in Beaumont Texas, have each been sentenced to 33 months in prison after a jury found them guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States for purposes of impeding the government functions of the IRS, and six counts of making and submitting false tax returns.
The Brocatos who started their business in 1981, grew it to include eight full-time teams of lawn care specialists. The couple under reported their income by $503,281 in 2012, $687,534 in 2013 and $513,498 in 2014. To facilitate their scheme, the Brocatos cashed numerous checks from customers instead of depositing them into the company’s accounts, then failed to report the cash on their tax returns.
The Brocato’s son, Brandon, is listed as an employee of the company but has not been charged with a crime. In addition to the prison sentence the Brocatos were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $617,762 to the IRS and fines of $15,000 each.
