Saratoga County Business Owner Sentenced for Tax Evasion

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Bruce Bochette, age 67, of Charlton, New York, was sentenced today to 1 year of probation, to pay a $20,000 fine, and to pay $219,706 in restitution, for evading taxes on unreported business income.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Thomas Fattorusso, Executive Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), New York Field Division, made the announcement.

Bochette operates a commercial painting business. In pleading previously guilty, he admitted that for tax years 2017 through 2021, he evaded income taxes by depositing checks, and portions of checks, into his personal account that were payments from his company's commercial painting clients. Bochette did not report this income to the IRS, on either his company's tax returns or his personal tax returns, and did not pay taxes on it.

Bochette admitted to not reporting $825,719.56 in business income, and to evading the assessment and payment of $219,706 in taxes. Bochette has already made a full restitution payment in the amount of $219,706.

IRS-CI investigated this case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett prosecuted this case.