A Massachusetts business owner has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in a tax fraud scheme. Kenneth Marston, aged 67, from Hanson, was sentenced on January 3, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani. He received a six-month prison term followed by 18 months of supervised release, with the first six months under home detention. Additionally, Marston must pay $101,791 in restitution.
In October 2024, Marston pleaded guilty to one count of failure to collect and pay over employment taxes. Between 2015 and 2018, he owned two businesses: Bowmar Steel Industries, Inc., involved in steel fabrication; and Teleconstructors, Inc., which provided installation services for cellular phone towers.
During this period, Marston misclassified his employees as independent contractors. This led to him not withholding employment taxes on more than $3.8 million in wages. Consequently, he avoided reporting and paying $1 million in employment taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS's Criminal Investigations in Boston. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Drabick from the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit and Trial Attorney Mark McDonald from the Justice Department’s Tax Division.