Madison, Wis. - Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Russell Broga, 51, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Madison to tax evasion for tax year 2013. This charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 19, 2018, at 11:00 a.m.
Broga owned and operated A-1 Services Wisconsin Rapids, LLC (“A-1"), located in Wisconsin Rapids. A-1 provided customers with a variety of services, including asphalt paving, asphalt maintenance, tree removal and tree transplanting. Broga oversaw all operational aspects of the business, including hiring and firing of staff, job quotes, job scheduling, invoicing, and depositing and cashing of customer checks.
At yesterday’s plea hearing, Broga admitted that he took customer checks and cashed them using his personal bank account, instead of depositing the income in his business bank account. Broga then withheld these skimmed receipts from his bookkeeper and tax return preparer for tax years 2012, 2013, and 2014. The total tax evaded for these three years totaled $147,682.
The charge against Broga was the result of an investigation conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Graber.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
