Former Mendon Ballroom Owner Pleads Guilty to False Tax Returns

BOSTON – The former owner of the Myriad Ballroom in Mendon, Mass., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Worcester to tax fraud charges.   

Jon “Eddie” Rouleau, 63, pleaded guilty to Information charging him with one count of intentionally aiding in the preparation of a false tax return.  U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for January 12, 2017.

Rouleau owned and operated the Myriad Ballroom for decades until he sold the business and property in 2014.  Federal agents initiated an investigation in 2013 when Rouleau advertised that the Ballroom was for sale.  Rouleau told the agents, who posed as potential buyers, that the annual gross receipts and profits of the Ballroom were significantly greater than reported on the Ballroom’s tax returns, including the gross receipts and profit reported in 2012. 

The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000 plus the costs of prosecution.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg A. Friedholm of U.S. Attorney Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.