A federal jury convicted a Massachusetts man on Friday for conspiring to defraud the United States.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jason Pecoy, of Wilbraham, conspired with his father Kent Pecoy and Kevin Kennedy to conceal income from the IRS. Jason Pecoy was a project manager at Kent Pecoy and Sons Construction Inc., which was owned by Kent Pecoy. Kevin Kennedy operated two municipal golf courses and purchased two custom-built homes from Kent Pecoy’s company.
The group conspired to conceal income from the IRS by dealing in cash. Jason Pecoy received at least $600,000 in cash payments from Kennedy for the purchase and construction of a custom-built home on Cape Cod. Instead of depositing most of the cash he received from Kennedy into the business's bank accounts, Pecoy distributed the cash directly to vendors and subcontractors. For example, Pecoy used approximately $149,300 of that cash to pay subcontractors under the table for work performed at the Cape Cod home. Pecoy also created and maintained separate ledgers documenting Kennedy’s cash payments, false contracts, and cost estimates and made false entries in the company’s accounting system to conceal the cash payments.
Jason Pecoy is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
As for his co-conspirators, Kent Pecoy pleaded guilty to related tax crimes on May 17 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20. Kennedy was convicted and sentenced to 13 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Assistant Chief Eric B. Powers of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Desroches for the District of Massachusetts are prosecuting the case.