New York Accountant Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

A New York certified public accountant pleaded guilty today to conspiring with a small business owner to defraud the IRS.

According to court documents, John Savignano, of White Plains, conspired with co-defendant Rocco Manzione, who owned and operated several companies that sold concrete, to evade the assessment of individual income taxes. For the tax years 2012 through 2014, Manzione received income from his concrete companies but did not file individual returns with the IRS or pay the taxes due. In 2015, Manzione sought to borrow money in connection with the purchase of a condominium in Miami. As part of the loan application process, the financial institutions requested that Manzione supply three years of filed tax returns. Thereafter, Manzione contacted Savignano, who helped him prepare and file false individual tax returns with the IRS that substantially underreported Manzione’s true income. In total, the conspiracy caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $400,000.

Savignano is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The defendant also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Manzione previously pleaded guilty to tax evasion and employment tax fraud on Sept. 23.  

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis for the Eastern District of New York made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Brittney Campbell and Kathryn Carpenter of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.