Electrician Pays $94,063 Restitution for Tax and Workers' Comp Fraud

Thursday, February 4, 2016 | 0

A New York state electrician will serve three years probation and pay $94,063 restitution after pleading guilty to tax and workers' compensation fraud charges, according to a report by the Times Herald-Record newspaper.

Scott Duffie, 62, was sentenced on Wednesday on two felony counts: repeated failure to file personal income tax returns and fraudulent practices under the state Workers' Compensation Law, the newspaper reported. He paid $59,319 in restitution to The Hartford and $34,744 to the state Department of Taxation and Finance under terms of his plea agreement, handing over $41,000 as a final payment just before he was sentenced.

Prosecutors say Duffie fraudulently claimed he had no employees when he filed forms to get public works jobs and on forms submitted to the state Department of Labor, according to the report. He also failed to pay personal tax returns from 2008 to 2013.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Nicholas De Rosa agreed to sentence Duffie to three years probation instead of six months in jail because he paid restitution, the newspaper said.