BOSTON – A Tewksbury real estate developer pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston yesterday to defrauding the government of more than $ 480,000 by participating in a multi-year tax evasion program.

Arnold Martel, 61, pleaded guilty to tax evasion. U.S. District Court judge George A. O’Toole Jr. scheduled the conviction on September 22, 2021. Martel was charged on April 9, 2021.

For the 2014-2017 fiscal years, Martel personally received more than $ 1.2 million in payments for condominium upgrades that his company sold. Martel deposited or redeemed the payments in his personal accounts, but did not report that income on this tax return.

The tax evasion allegation includes a prison sentence of up to five years, a supervised release of up to three years, and a fine of $ 250,000 or double gross profit or loss, whichever is greater. Martel is also required to provide a refund to the IRS. The sentences are passed by a federal district judge based on US sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.

This was announced by acting US attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Ramsey E. Covington, acting special agent for the criminal investigation of the Internal Revenue Service in Boston. U.S. Assistant Attorneys Sara Miron Bloom and David Holcomb of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber ​​Fraud Unit are pursuing the case.