BOSTON - Dracut twin brothers were sentenced today to three years in prison for hiding income from their excavation business as part of a conspiracy to evade more than $900,000 in taxes.
United States District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns sentenced Paul Brown and Raymond Brown, both 45, to 36 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Stearns ordered them each to pay a $50,000 fine as well as more than $900,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
In February, following a jury trial the brothers were convicted of conspiracy to impair, impede and obstruct the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to collect income taxes and of tax evasion.
Between 1996 and 2006, the Browns owned and operated J.P. Brown & Sons, a Dracut-based excavation company. Through the operation of J.P. Brown, the brothers earned almost $2 million in income over a four-year span. Neither paid any taxes on that income, and both failed to file personal federal income tax returns. The brothers concealed much of their income by, among other things, placing assets in the names of their wives, taking draws from the company in the form of cash, accepting property in exchange for services rendered by J.P. Brown, and depleting the company bank account by purchasing more than a million dollars in gold and silver.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Walters and Vassili Thomadakis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
