A Clinton, Massachusetts man has been sentenced in federal court for his involvement in tax and mail fraud, along with other offenses. Juliano Fernandes, 42, received a sentence of five years of probation from U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman.
In July 2023, Fernandes admitted guilt to 11 counts of employment tax fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and two counts of making false statements to a federal agency. He was found to have exercised financial control over Force Corporation and AB Construction, both construction companies based in Massachusetts.
Between 2015 and 2017, Fernandes deliberately failed to account for and remit employment taxes for these companies to the United States Internal Revenue Service. Furthermore, from approximately April 2013 through January 2017, he defrauded worker’s compensation insurance companies by misrepresenting the number of employees at Force Corporation and AB Construction as well as the wages paid to them.
In August 2017, Fernandes made materially false statements to the U.S. Department of Labor regarding the value of property he owned in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. He also falsely claimed that he never had responsibility or control over the payroll of Force Corporation. These statements were connected to the Department of Labor's efforts to collect funds from Fernandes and his businesses concerning alleged civil wage violations.
Anderson Dos Santos, a co-defendant who worked for AB Construction, signed and filed individual tax returns for tax years 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017 where he significantly under-reported his income. Dos Santos pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May 2024 to three years of probation.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jonathan Wlodyka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations Boston Field Office; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations Labor Racketeering and Fraud Northeast Region; and Anthony DiPaolo Executive Director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brendan D. O’Shea and Danial Bennett from the Worcester Branch Office along with John T. Mulcahy from the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted this case.