A Monmouth County brother and sister were arrested today on charges of tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
According to U.S. Attorney Sellinger, Enrico Cifelli, 51, of Holmdel and Michelle Bocchieri, 42, of Matawan were each charged by indictment on March 3 with conspiracy to defraud the United States.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger said that Cifelli is additionally charged with evasion of payment of payroll taxes, failure to pay over payroll taxes and evasion of assessment of income tax.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2013 through October 2020, Cifelli and Bocchieri, who are siblings, conspired to evade the payment of more than $1.5 million in payroll taxes, penalties, and interest that Cifelli owed the IRS.
Cifelli’s tax liability stemmed from the unpaid payroll taxes of two companies that he controlled: Cifelli Disposal Inc., a waste disposal business, and LBAB LLC, a construction business.
Cifelli failed to pay the vast majority of payroll taxes for Cifelli Disposal for the years 2004 through 2008 and for LBAB for the years 2009 through 2015, resulting in more than $1.5 million in taxes, penalties, and interest.
To avoid paying the IRS and give a false impression that Cifelli lacked the ability to pay his back taxes, Cifelli and Bocchieri conspired to have Bocchieri fund Cifelli’s lifestyle through an entity she nominally owned but Cifelli controlled.
For instance, Bocchieri caused her company to pay the down payment, mortgage, and other expenses for Cifelli’s personal residence.
Cifelli submitted a false Offer in Compromise to the IRS in June 2016, making multiple misrepresentations and material omissions of his assets and household income while offering to settle his tax debt for pennies on the dollar.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss to any person, whichever is greatest.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa T. Wiygul of the Criminal Division in Camden.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.