Press Release
☷Thrice Convicted Rhode Island Businessman Sentenced for Pocketing Employee Federal Withholding Taxes
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( By Press Release office)
Apr 29,2022
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Thrice - Convicted Rhode Island Businessman Sentenced for Pocketing Employee Federal Withholding Taxes PROVIDENCE – A Rhode Island businessman convicted of misusing more than a half - million dollars in employment taxes collected from his employees to finance his own personal expenditures , including rent payments on a luxury home and fess for online dating services , has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison , announced United States Attorney Zachary A . Cunha . Steven M . Allard , 60 , of North Scituate , owner and operator of BR Steel Corporation in Burrillville and Greystone Iron Corporation in Smithfield , previously admitted in court that from at least 2017 through 2018 , he failed to turn over to the IRS more than $570 , 000 in federal employment taxes and FICA payments withheld from his employees . Instead , Allard used the money to pay for personal expenditures including the purchase of more than $216 , 000 in “credits” to an online dating website , RussianBrides . com , and $93 , 000 in rent payments for a luxury home in Scituate . Allard pleaded guilty on September 20 , 2020 , to willful failure to collect or pay over taxes . He was sentenced today by U . S . District Court Chief Judge John J . McConnell , Jr . , to 33 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of federal supervised release; and pay $625 , 186 . 29 restitution to the IRS . This case marks the third federal conviction and sentencing of Allard in U . S . District Court in Rhode Island . In 2009 , Allard pleaded guilty to tax evasion and bankruptcy fraud and was sentenced to 30 months in prison . In that matter , Allard admitted that from March 2005 to July 2006 , he diverted for his own use $1 . 6 million dollars due the IRS; and that he made false statements about real estate holdings in a bankruptcy filing in 2005 . Prior to that , Allard was found guilty by a jury at trial of accepting kickbacks from public employees and was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison . Allard’s most recent federal case was prosecuted by Assistant U . S . Attorney Sandra R . Hebert . The matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation , the FBI , and the U . S . Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration . ###
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