BOSTON, MA — Dariusz Pietron, 51, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Travelers Insurance Company in a scheme involving the wages he paid to employees of his two construction companies. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced the sentencing today.
In addition to his prison sentence, Pietron was ordered to pay restitution totaling $1,107,000 to the IRS and $244,000 to Travelers Insurance Company.
Pietron, the owner of TJM Construction Inc. and Point Construction Inc., pleaded guilty in May 2024 to three counts of failure to collect and pay employment taxes and one count of mail fraud related to underpaid workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Between 2012 and October 2018, Pietron deliberately failed to report wages paid to employees, did not withhold required income taxes, and neglected to pay employment taxes.
Furthermore, Pietron misrepresented the actual wages of his employees to Travelers Insurance, significantly underreporting wages in order to pay lower workers’ compensation premiums.
As part of the fraudulent operation, Pietron instructed two employees to establish shell companies to falsely categorize his workers as subcontractors, thus avoiding his tax and insurance obligations. This manipulation resulted in over $1.1 million in unpaid employment taxes and a $244,000 fraud against Travelers Insurance.
The case highlights the significant financial impact of fraud on both the government and private insurance companies, and underscores the importance of transparency and compliance in business operations.