An East Hartford tax preparer convicted of tax evasion has been sentenced to four months of imprisonment, followed by six months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.
According to federal officials, Shaukat G. Dalal, also known as Shaukathusein Dalal, 55, of East Hartford, owned and operated a tax preparation business, Tax Preparation SVS Inc. For the 2009 through 2011 tax years, Dalal, who had prepared more than 250 tax returns as part of the tax preparation business, did not deposit all of the gross receipts into his business bank account and subsequently understated his gross receipts on his federal tax returns.
Dalal and his wife also owned Ameen LLC, a holding company that owned 25 rental units in an East Hartford condominium complex. According to court records, Dalal performed virtually all of the work for the real estate business, including collecting rent receipts, pricing the units, organizing repairs and maintenance, depositing rent receipts, paying the bills and maintaining the books and records.
The U.S. Attorney’s office for Connecticut said Dalal did not deposit a substantial portion of rent receipts, often paid to him in cash, into Ameen LLC’s business bank account and substantially underreported both the applicable income and taxes due and owing on his 2009 through 2011 federal tax returns. Through this scheme, Dalal failed to report nearly $400,000 in income.
U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport ordered Dalal to pay $97,289 in back taxes, plus applicable penalties and interest. In Dec. 2015, he pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. He was ordered to report to prison on July 20, 2016.
In addition to his tax preparation and real estate businesses, Dalal was employed by the state of Connecticut as a fiscal administration assistant.
