Charlestown Resident Sentenced For Tax Scheme At Suffolk Downs

BOSTON – A Charlestown man was sentenced today for his scheme to help gamblers at Suffolk Downs evade the payment of taxes on over $2 million in winnings.

Gary Boyar, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to one year and one day in prison, and ordered to pay $43,149 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. In February 2013, Boyar pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to impede the IRS and tax evasion.

Boyar was a “10-percenter,” a phrase referring to the 10-percent fee charged by those who cash winning tickets for gamblers so that the gamblers’ identities are not reported to the IRS. This scheme allowed gamblers to avoid paying taxes on their winnings, which were taxable income. When Boyar cashed tickets and submitted forms to the IRS associated with those tickets, he used his deceased father’s social security number to obstruct the IRS. During the tax years 2004 through 2006, Boyar cashed more than $2 million in tickets at Suffolk Downs that belonged to winning gamblers, and submitted approximately 1,713 false IRS forms using his deceased father’s social security number. This conduct obstructed the IRS from determining the identities of the actual winners.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Department of Justice Tax Division, and Special Agent in Charge William P. Offord of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sean R. Delaney of the Tax Division.