A New York man has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by concealing his income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Aniello Strocchia, owner and operator of an auto repair shop in Maspeth, was found guilty of evading nearly $1 million in taxes over a five-year period.

According to court documents and testimony during the trial, from 2013 to 2017, Strocchia engaged in a fraud in which he cashed $1.3 million in checks made out to his auto repair business at commercial check cashing locations. Instead of depositing those funds into the repair business’s bank account, Strocchia concealed those receipts from his tax return preparers. As a result, the tax returns for his business and personal accounts significantly underreported the repair business’s gross receipts, ordinary business income, and his total personal income.

Not only did Strocchia underreport his income, but he also failed to pay the full amount of taxes he reported on his personal tax return. Instead of meeting his tax obligations, he used the undisclosed income to fund a lavish lifestyle that included purchasing a luxury car collection, a second home, and spending around $500,000 on extensive renovations to his home.

The total tax loss to the IRS as a result of Strocchia’s actions was $989,976.

In addition to the 20-month prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzalez for the Eastern District of New York ordered Strocchia to serve two years of supervised release following his prison term. Strocchia was also ordered to pay $989,976 in restitution to the United States.

The verdict against Strocchia was handed down by Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and United States Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Matthew Cofer of the Tax Division.