Date: April 1, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Matthew V. Blackwell, of Woodbridge, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sarah A.L. Merriam in New Haven to 21 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for tax evasion. Judge Merriam also ordered Blackwell to pay a $10,000 fine and to perform 120 hours of community service while on supervised release. According to court documents and statements made in court, Blackwell was the Vice President of Operations at a family-owned food company based in Orange. Between approximately 2012 and 2016, Blackwell embezzled $927,143 from the company by creating false purchase orders and invoices that he presented to the company controller, who had no knowledge of their fraudulent nature. The company issued payment checks that Blackwell deposited in a business checking account that he had opened and controlled. Blackwell then transferred these funds to his personal bank accounts. Blackwell filed federal income tax returns that omitted the embezzled income for the 2012 through 2016 tax years, resulting in a tax loss of $285,361 to the IRS. Blackwell has paid his back taxes, but he still owes interest and penalties. On December 9, 2021, Blackwell pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. Blackwell, who is released on bond, is required to report to prison on May 5. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Chen.
