Mark Edwards, a 61-year-old resident of Danbury, pleaded guilty on Mar. 9 to charges related to the filing of false tax returns, according to David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by federal authorities to enforce tax laws and ensure accurate reporting by business owners.
Court documents show that Edwards has owned and operated Mark Edwards Roofing and Siding, LLC since around 1998. Beginning at least as early as 2018, he failed to keep proper records or perform bookkeeping for his business. During this period, he provided his tax preparer with handwritten figures that significantly underreported his income. Between the years 2019 and 2023, Edwards underreported his gross receipts by at least $1.3 million on federal income tax returns, resulting in a loss of $368,334 in taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service.
Edwards pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to aiding in the preparation of a false tax return—a charge that carries a maximum prison sentence of three years.
He is currently released on a $50,000 bond while awaiting sentencing; no date has been scheduled yet.
The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation into this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser is prosecuting the case.
