Employment Agency Owner Sentenced for Tax Fraud

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rossy Noriega, 50, of Providence, R.I., owner of New Diamond Work, Inc., a temporary employment agency based in Fall River, Mass., was sentenced in federal court in Providence today to two years probation, the first six months to be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring, for failing to pay employment taxes for employees she paid in cash and failing to pay personal income taxes on unreported cash she pocketed from her business.

At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Noriega to perform 100 hours of community service and to pay full restitution to the IRS. Noriega pleaded guilty on April 7, 2016, to income tax evasion and failure to withhold employment taxes.

Noriega’s sentence is announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI). 

At the time of her guilty plea, Noriega admitted to the court that during tax years 2009-2013, she withdrew more than $2.5 million dollars in cash from company bank accounts, a portion of which was used to pay some of her employees in cash. A significant amount of the cash was withdrawn for her own personal use.

Noriega admitted to the court that she failed to accurately report to the IRS the number of paid employees, total payments to employees, and federal employment taxes due the IRS. She also failed to accurately report her own personal income, thus she failed to pay the appropriate amount of taxes due the IRS. In total, Noriega failed to pay $720,923 in employment and personal income taxes due the IRS.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams.

The U.S. State Department Office of Inspector General assisted IRS CI in the investigation of this matter.

###

Contact:

Jim Martin (401) 709-5357

email: USARI.Media@usdoj.gov

on Twitter @USAO_RI