Construction Company Owner and Three Others Charged in Tax and Financial Fraud Case

Four people tied to a group of New York-area construction subcontracting companies have been charged in an indictment unsealed Monday with tax and financial fraud crimes, the Justice Department said.

The department said Arthur Nelson, of Staten Island, New York, and Sunny Isles Beach, Florida; Joseph Free, of Staten Island; Paul Vasquez, of Englishtown, New Jersey; and Ulysses Jude Devocion, of Queens County, New York, face charges including conspiring to defraud the IRS, tax evasion, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

According to the indictment, Nelson owned and operated companies including MTB AMG Inc., PAL AMG Inc., MTB Metal Fabricators Inc. and Wired NYC LLC. Prosecutors allege that from April 2017 through May 2024 the defendants caused employees to be paid weekly wages with no federal employment taxes withheld, totaling at least about $5 million, and filed or caused the filing of false tax returns. The indictment also alleges Nelson underreported business gross receipts by about $13 million.

From July 2019 through March 2025, Nelson, Devocion and Vasquez allegedly submitted false financial documents to obtain loans, mortgages, lines of credit and other benefits, the department said. Devocion is also charged with obstruction of justice in connection with grand jury testimony.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. The department noted that an indictment is merely an allegation and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/491