BOSTON — The owner of a North Shore paving company has been sentenced to federal prison for failing to pay more than $1.1 million in income taxes, the U.S. Attorney said.
Richard Cooper, 71, of Billerica, the owner of Rick Cooper Paving, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper to six months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement Monday.
Cooper was also ordered to pay $989,819 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Cooper pleaded guilty in October to four counts of tax evasion.
From 2017 to 2020, Cooper cashed more than $5.1 million in customer checks, and deposited customer payments into bank accounts in the name of his company, Rick Cooper Paving, Foley said.
When Cooper had his taxes prepared, he did not tell his preparer about the checks he was cashing, prosecutors said. As a result, his tax returns underreported the business’ gross receipts by millions of dollars.
Cooper kept more than $1.1 million that he should have paid in federal and state income taxes, prosecutors said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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