A Boston man bought more than $10 million worth of gold and silver bars in a tax-avoidance scheme involving his plumbing and heating business, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Claudio Poles, a 78-year-old from Dorchester who co-owns the Mattapan business, was charged Tuesday with four counts of filing false tax returns, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts.
Poles allegedly kept some of the receipts from the business from its tax preparer and used the money to buy the gold and silver, writing “Boilers,” “Materials” and “P&H Supp.” as the memo on checks he used to pay for the precious metals for his own benefit.
Poles filed fraudulent tax returns from 2019 to 2022, federal prosecutors said.
It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak to the charges.
A conviction for filing false tax returns carries a sentence of up to three years in prison, up to two years on probation and a $250,000 fine, according to prosecutors.