(Photo: CBS)WILMINGTON, Del.- Delaware Division of Revenue Director Patrick T. Carter announced Tuesday that a Frederica flooring contractor has pleaded guilty in Superior Court to tax evasion for failing to pay taxes on more than $300,000 in income, and for willfully failing to file a state personal income tax return.
Michael K. Farnese, 44, a self-employed flooring installer, pleaded guilty before New Castle County Judge M. Jane Brady to one felony count of attempting to evade income tax.
Farnese was sentenced to a five-year suspended prison term and was placed on supervised probation for one year. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the Division of Revenue in the amount of $8,082 to be paid within one year. The court also ordered that Farnese pay the costs of prosecution.
Farnese was originally charged in a four-count indictment in April 2011 with one felony count of tax evasion and three misdemeanor counts of failing to file a state personal income tax return for the years 2007 through 2009.
An investigation conducted by the Division of Revenue's Criminal Investigation Unit revealed that Farnese incorporated his business, "A & D Flooring, Inc.," but did not register the corporation with the Division of Revenue, nor did he obtain a state business license.
Authorities said that during the years 2007 through 2010, Farnese received more than $300,000 of taxable income from conducting business in Delaware, yet failed to report any of this income on a tax return. According to officials, it was determined that Farnese diverted this income into a corporate bank account and used this account to pay for personal expenses. It was also revealed in court Tuesday that Farnese had not filed a state income tax return for the past 12 years.
This case was prosecuted by the Delaware Attorney General's Office.
