A 78-year-old co-owner of a Mattapan plumbing and heating supply company bought $10 million worth of gold and silver bars for the company by writing a check stating that the purchase was “for boilers.” He is accused of concealing funds from ” and “materials,” court documents show.
Claudio Pauls, of Dorchester, is charged with four counts of filing false tax returns in connection with a precious metals purchase scheme, according to the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy of Massachusetts. It is said that According to court filings, the Poles and federal prosecutors may have reached a plea deal, but neither the Polish lawyers nor the U.S. attorney's office could be reached to confirm the deal.
The Poles hired a tax preparer to complete their economy plumbing and heating supply company's tax returns from 2019 to 2022. However, prosecutors say he failed to report all of the company's plumbing receipts to his tax preparer, who included business receipts on his tax return filed under penalty of perjury. It is said that he did not report the department.
According to court documents, the Poles are then accused of using excess income not reported on their tax returns to purchase more than $10 million worth of gold and silver from bullion dealers. Prosecutors allege that he wrote checks to buy company equipment to conceal his purchases.
Prosecutors also said the Poles falsely reported losses totaling about $75,000 on their tax returns from 2019 to 2022, and declared more than $8.3 million in income from buying bars with money from the business. accused of not doing so. Court documents show he incurred significant costs in doing so. The IRS incurred a tax loss of approximately $3 million.
The charge of filing a false tax return carries a penalty of up to three years in prison, so if convicted on all four charges, the Poles could face up to 12 years in prison.
