Former Owner of Defunct Oil Company Sentenced to Federal Prison for Filing False Tax Returns

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RICHARD A. STEVENS, 60, of Middlebury, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to five months of imprisonment, followed by five months of home confinement and one year of supervised release, for filing false tax returns.

According to court documents and statements made in court, STEVENS owned F&S Oil Company, Inc. ("F&S Oil"), a now-defunct business that was based in Waterbury. STEVENS has admitted that, during the 2006 and 2007 tax years, he charged personal expenditures that were unrelated to F&S Oil business on the company's credit cards, including meals, travel, golf outings, and equipment. For the 2006 tax year, STEVENS charged $113,733 in personal expenses to F&S Oil and, in 2007, he charged $115,667 in personal expenses to the company.

STEVENS failed to report any of these expenditures on his personal federal tax returns for the 2006 and 2007 tax years, underpaying his federal taxes by a total of $79,186 for the two years.

STEVENS is required to pay back taxes, plus any applicable penalties and interest, to the Internal Revenue Service.

On August 11, 2010, STEVENS pleaded guilty to one count of willfully filing a false U.S. Tax Return.

This matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.