U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest | U.S. Department of Justice
James Mailhiot, Jr., a resident of Rutland, Vermont, has entered a guilty plea to federal income tax evasion charges. The plea was made in the United States District Court in Rutland, as announced by the United States Attorney’s Office. U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier has released Mailhiot under certain conditions while awaiting sentencing on March 27, 2025.
The charge against Mailhiot was filed on November 14, 2024. It accuses him of evading a significant portion of his income taxes owed to the United States for the years 2019 through 2022. Mailhiot admitted guilt to this charge.
Court documents reveal that Mailhiot owned and operated a roofing business that generated around $1.6 million in gross revenues over the specified period. He employed an out-of-state accountant to prepare his federal income tax returns and provided records of revenues and expenses from his roofing jobs for this purpose. However, these records were incomplete, leading to substantial understatements of taxable income and underpayments totaling $296,000 for those years.
Mailhiot could face up to five years in prison and a fine reaching $100,000. The final sentence will be determined by the District Court with input from advisory guidelines and statutory factors.
The Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division conducted the investigation into this case. Mark Kaplan represents Mailhiot legally, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples is prosecuting.
