A Quincy man, Mauricio Baiense, has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for his involvement in a tax fraud scheme and making false statements regarding a workplace accident. The sentencing was delivered by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young, who imposed an 18-month prison term followed by one year of supervised release. Baiense is also required to pay $2,824,577.45 in restitution to the United States.
In April 2024, Baiense admitted guilt to charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, failure to collect and pay over taxes, aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, and making false statements. His indictment came from a federal grand jury in August 2022.
Baiense owned Contract Framing Builders, Inc., a construction company based in Medford. He was responsible for managing the company's employment tax returns and payroll taxes owed to the IRS. Between 2013 and 2017, he orchestrated approximately $11 million worth of checks drawn on CFB’s corporate bank account to entities that were actually controlled by him. These funds were used for an "off-the-books" cash payroll system for CFB employees without reporting or paying corresponding employment taxes.
Furthermore, Baiense assisted in preparing fraudulent tax returns that understated wages paid to employees.
During an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration into a fatal workplace accident involving one of his employees, Baiense falsely claimed under oath that the deceased employee did not work for him.
The announcement was made by several officials: United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Stuart M. Goldberg from the Justice Department’s Tax Division; Jeff Erskine from OSHA Region 1; Jonathan Wlodyka from IRS Criminal Investigation; and Jonathan Mellone from the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General in Boston. Assistance came from various agencies including Homeland Security's OSHA Criminal Investigations Team and others involved with labor oversight.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Tobin and Trial Attorney Thomas F. Koelbl prosecuted this case.