Durango – Kenneth and Suzanne Fusco of Durango, Colorado, pleaded guilty to tax evasion on October 13, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado announced.
According to the plea agreement, the defendants co-operated a restaurant in downtown Durango, Colorado. During the 2014 to 2019 tax years, the defendants knowingly inflated their business expenses to reduce their tax liability. Specifically, the defendants classified personal expenses as “customer supplies” in their accounting software, which were then transmitted to tax professionals and submitted to the IRS. The couple also provided their tax professional with a signed statement that the information they provided was “complete and correct to the best of our knowledge” when, in fact, the defendants knew they did not provide accurate information and did not report Operating income totaled $933,586. This resulted in a loss of $160,536 in taxes to the government.
Fuscos faces 12 to 41 months in prison, $160,536 in restitution, and $5,500 to $55,000 in fines, plus interest and penalties. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 6, 2023.
The case is being investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nikki Cassidy and Jeffrey Graves handled the prosecution.
Case Number: 22-cr-00311-REB-JMC