NEWARK, NJ — The owner of multiple New Jersey masonry businesses was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to evading employment tax penalties totaling nearly $1.9 million, federal prosecutors announced.
Joseph Caravella, of Randolph, was sentenced following an investigation into his failure to pay employment taxes for several companies he controlled between 2008 and 2019. According to court records, the IRS had assessed approximately $650,000 in Trust Fund Recovery penalties against Caravella for failing to ensure his companies paid federal employment taxes.
Rather than pay the assessed penalties, Caravella concealed control of his businesses by placing them in the names of nominees and avoiding the use of bank accounts in his own name to prevent IRS collection efforts. During that same period, he continued to operate businesses that also failed to meet employment tax obligations, causing the IRS an additional loss of $1.2 million.
The total tax loss attributed to Caravella’s conduct is $1,885,519.39.
