Feds: Branford biz owner evaded taxes while buying luxury items

An owner of a Branford-based construction business faces potential imprisonment and must pay more than $2 million in restitution after pleading guilty Thursday to a tax violation.

Christopher Jardine, 55, of Guilford, entered the plea to one count of willful failure to pay withholding taxes in a proceeding before U.S. District Court Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport.

Jardine, who is free on $50,000 bond, is scheduled to be sentenced July 28 and faces up to five years in prison. According to a plea agreement document, however, sentencing guideline calculations show him facing between 30 and 37 months.

Jardine must pay approximately $2,070,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, a sum which includes back taxes, interest and penalties. Jardine already has paid roughly $1.2 million toward his restitution obligation.

Jardine is a part owner of D&A Construction Management Inc. in Branford. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Jardine failed to pay both business and personal taxes.

At D&A Construction, he was responsible for its finances, including collecting the company’s employees’ income, Medicare and social security taxes, which are withheld from their paychecks, and then forwarding the funds to the IRS. He was also responsible for making sure the company paid its share of taxes, prosecutors said.

According to the government, an investigation showed that Jardine and the company withheld employees’ taxes over multiple tax periods between 2016 and 2019 and reported those withholdings to the IRS, but then failed to pay over the withheld amounts, which totaled about $868,000, to the government. 

Jardine represented to the IRS that the company lacked the ability to pay. However, investigators determined that he used millions of dollars in company funds toward personal expenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. 

These included buying luxury items such as a 52-foot cigarette boat, a Range Rover, high-end clothing and auto parts. He also used funds toward payments on behalf of a Guilford business Jardine controls called Straight Jacket USA LLC,  prosecutors said.

Attorney David Ring at Wiggin and Dana, who is representing Jardine, could not be reached immediately for comment.

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.