U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced that James Leonardo, a Rochester business owner, has been sentenced for filing a false tax return. Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford sentenced Leonardo to time served and one year of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution amounting to $2,267,315.42.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, who handled the case, explained that Leonardo is the sole member and owner of MY PI, LLC. The company owns a 110-foot yacht named “Pure Insanity,” which generated rental income for MY PI, LLC. Leonardo was required to report the net profits or losses from the business use of the yacht on his personal federal income tax returns.

Between 2015 and 2018, Leonardo reported the rental income received by MY PI, LLC but falsely deducted all losses related to operation and maintenance by claiming the yacht was used exclusively for business purposes. In reality, it was only used for business one-third of the time, meaning he should have only deducted one-third of those losses.

Due to these actions, Leonardo failed to report and pay additional income taxes totaling $872,869 for the years 2015 through 2018.