KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The owner of a Peculiar, Mo., business pleaded guilty today in federal court to tax evasion.
Jason Rigoli, 42, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to a federal information charging him with one count of tax evasion.
Rigoli, who has owned and operated Granite Construction Services, LLC, since 2006, admitted that he has not filed a federal personal, business or employment tax return since at least 2013. Rigoli also failed to pay income taxes state, state employment taxes, workers’ compensation taxes, and unemployment taxes.
As part of his scheme, Rigoli used his business bank accounts for all his personal expenses. Rigoli used the proceeds of his tax fraud to pay for travel, restaurant meals and alcohol.
Rigoli falsely told IRS agents that he always paid his employees by check. Rigoli also falsely told IRS agents that he paid his employees “by 1099,” when in fact, Rigoli often paid employees in cash and did not file W-2 forms or 1099 forms for employees his.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Rigoli must pay restitution to the IRS in an amount to be determined by the court at sentencing. Rigoli must pay $10,188 in restitution for unpaid employment taxes. The government could argue at sentencing that the attempted loss from Rigoli’s criminal scheme was $250,000 to $550,000.
Under federal statutes, Rigoli is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The statutory maximum sentence is set by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A hearing will be scheduled following the completion of an ongoing investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
