Darien Spa Owner Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Returns

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that NUSRAT RIZVI, 75, of Norwalk, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to one count of filing a false tax return.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2008 to 2010, RIZVI failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service approximately $144,776 in income from Lanphier Day Spa, Inc., a spa he operated with his wife in Darien.

In pleading guilty, RIZVI admitted that he took a portion of the cash received by the business, deposited the cash into his personal bank accounts and failed to report the income to his tax return preparer for the 2008 through 2010 tax years.

Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for January 14, 2016, at which time RIZVI faces a maximum term of imprisonment of three years and a fine of up to $250,000.  As part of his guilty plea, RIZVI has agreed to pay $50,485 in back taxes, as well as $37,862 in penalties.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia E. King.