A man from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, was sentenced to prison on January 10, 2025, for committing tax and mail fraud involving his two construction companies. The defendant, Dariusz Pietron, 51, was found guilty of defrauding the government and an insurance company by lying about the wages he paid his workers. This dishonest behavior cost taxpayers and businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pietron was ordered to spend 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay back over $1.3 million to the IRS and Travelers Insurance Company.
The Fraud Scheme
Between 2012 and 2018, Pietron owned two construction companies called TJM Construction, Inc. (TJM) and Point Construction, Inc. (Point). During this time, he failed to report the wages he paid to his employees, which meant he didn’t pay the right amount of taxes to the IRS. The IRS is responsible for collecting money for the government, which helps fund services like schools, roads, and public safety.
In addition to this, Pietron also tricked Travelers Insurance Company. He didn’t tell them the real amount of money he was paying his workers. Insurance companies like Travelers use workers’ wages to calculate how much companies should pay for workers’ compensation insurance. This type of insurance is important because it helps pay for medical expenses if a worker gets hurt on the job. By lying about his employees’ wages, Pietron paid less than what he owed for this insurance, which hurt the insurance company.
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The Shell Company Trick
To make it harder for the authorities to catch on, Pietron took extra steps to cover up his fraudulent actions. He hired two people to create fake companies, known as “shell companies.” These shell companies were set up to make it look like Pietron’s employees were actually independent contractors working for these companies, instead of being employees. By doing this, Pietron was able to avoid paying employment taxes and workers’ compensation insurance premiums that he was supposed to pay for his workers.
The purpose of these shell companies was to make the IRS and Travelers believe that Pietron had no responsibility to pay taxes or insurance for the workers. This allowed Pietron to keep a large amount of money that he should have been paying to the government and the insurance company. His actions resulted in more than $1.1 million in unpaid taxes to the IRS and defrauded Travelers Insurance of about $244,000.
The Consequences
As a result of his illegal actions, Pietron was sentenced to prison. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, who oversaw the case, handed down a sentence of 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Pietron must also pay a total of $1,107,000 in restitution to the IRS and $244,000 to Travelers Insurance Company, which means he will have to return the money he took.
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Pietron pleaded guilty to several serious charges, including failure to collect and pay employment taxes and mail fraud. These charges were based on his refusal to pay the proper taxes on the wages of his workers and his attempt to defraud an insurance company by hiding the true amount of wages he was paying.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation division and the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild, worked to prosecute Pietron for his crimes.
The case highlights the seriousness of tax and insurance fraud, and how people who cheat the system can face severe penalties. The government takes these kinds of fraud cases seriously because they hurt not only the businesses involved but also the public. The money lost in these fraud schemes could have been used to fund important services for communities.
Pietron’s actions are a reminder of the importance of honesty when it comes to taxes and insurance. When business owners try to cut corners and deceive authorities, they not only break the law but also damage the trust that businesses, workers, and the government have in each other.
