BOSTON – The owner of a commercial and residential construction business in Dracut was sentenced yesterday for an income diversion and payroll tax scheme resulting in a tax loss that exceeded $1 million.
James P. Enwright, 53, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to three years of probation with the first year under home incarceration. The government recommended a sentence of two years in prison. On March 2, 2021, Enwright pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of failure to pay over taxes.
Enwright owned and operated Enwright Construction for over 20 years. From 2013 through 2018, Enwright withheld from his tax preparer over $2.8 million of Enwright Construction’s gross receipts. In addition, during the tax quarters ending March 31, 2013 through Sept. 30, 2019, Enwright paid over $3 million in wages to his employees in cash “under the table.” As a result of his conduct, Enwright underreported his personal income tax obligations and failed to report and pay the IRS the employment taxes owed on the cash wages. In total, Enwright caused a loss to the IRS of $1,025,312.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Drabick of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.