BOSTON – A New Bedford man was sentenced on Dec. 1, 2023 for evading taxes on income he earned as a commercial fisherman.
Joaquin Sosa was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Sosa was also ordered to pay restitution of $520,415.
Sosa worked as a commercial fisherman and deckhand operating primarily out of the Port of New Bedford. Despite receiving approximately $1.9 million in income between 2012 and 2021, Sosa did not file tax returns reporting the income and did not pay the substantial income taxes owed on the income he earned. Sosa also worked under false identities over the years. To further conceal the source and disposition of his income, Sosa cashed his paychecks from fishing companies at check-cashing businesses, at times using false identities and used the cash to fund his personal lifestyle. In total, Sosa caused a tax loss to the IRS of $520,415.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division; and Harry Chavis Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor Wild of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit as well as Trial Attorney Ezra Spiro and Acting Chief John Kane of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.