BOSTON - The former project manager of a now-defunct luxury home building business in West Springfield. Mass. was sentenced yesterday for conspiring to defraud the United States.

Jason Pecoy, 44, of Wilbraham, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to two years of probation, and a fine of $7,500. The government recommended a sentence of 21 to 27 months in prison, followed by a three-years of supervised release, and order mandatory restitution in the amount of $35,982. In June 2024, Pecoy was convicted by a federal jury of two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Jason Pecoy was previously indicted in December 2019 along with his father, Kent Pecoy, and Kevin M. Kennedy, the former owner of a golf management company, for conspiring to defraud the United States by concealing cash payments for the construction of Kennedy's two homes in East Longmeadow and West Dennis. The defendants were later charged in a superseding indictment in January 2020.

On Dec. 11, 2023, Kennedy was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to defraud the United States and making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on April 24, 2024. On May 16, 2024, Kent Pecoy pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. Kent Pecoy was sentenced in August 2024 to time served (one day) and two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $24,000 fine and $35,982 in restitution.

From 2009 through 2016, Kennedy conspired with Kent Pecoy, the owner of Kent Pecoy and Sons Construction Inc. (KPSC), and his son, Jason Pecoy, a KPSC project manager, to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service and the collection of taxes by concealing Kennedy's cash payments for construction of the East Longmeadow and West Dennis homes. Kennedy paid the Pecoys in cash, all of which the Pecoys failed to deposit into business bank accounts, but rather distributed the cash directly to vendors and subcontractors. When they did deposit the cash, the Pecoys deposited funds in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid the filing of currency transaction reports. The evidence proved that when the Pecoys created and maintained separate ledgers documenting Kennedy's cash payments, created and maintained false contracts and cover sheets and created false entries in KPSC's accounting system to conceal the cash payments.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Special Agent in Charge, Harry T. Chavis Jr., Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Breslow and Neil L. Desroches of the Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case along with Trial Attorney Eric B. Powers of the Justice Department's Tax Division.