A Rumford resident has been sentenced in U.S. District Court for evading employment taxes. Jeffrey Richard, aged 50, received a prison term of 12 months and one day, followed by three years of supervised release. He is also required to pay restitution amounting to $910,980.37 to the IRS after pleading guilty on July 17, 2023.
Court documents reveal that between 2013 and 2017, Richard actively avoided paying employment withholding taxes owed by his company, Black Bear Industrial, Inc. Despite knowing about the company's tax liabilities, he used funds from the business account for personal and business expenses without addressing the tax debt. Additionally, Richard established two nominee companies to conceal his ownership and misled an IRS revenue officer regarding his involvement with one of these entities. One of these companies generated over $174,000 in business income in 2017 but did not allocate any funds toward settling IRS obligations nor filed any corporate or employment tax returns.
Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation at the Boston Field Office stated: “Today’s sentencing of Jeffrey Richard sends a strong message to all individuals and businesses that think they are above the law and can evade their obligation to pay their fair share of taxes.” He added that "Richard knowingly chose to steal and cheat from every American taxpayer when he selfishly chose to use business funds for personal purchases and took other steps to evade paying his tax liability." He emphasized that tax evasion affects all Americans by diverting essential resources needed for public services.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation.