Date: August 30, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, and David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that Mark Pagani of Bolton, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to fraud and tax evasion offenses. According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2013 to at least August 2015, Pagani conspired with another person ("K.S."), who is now deceased, to defraud a victim investor of more than $1 million. K.S. arranged investment deals with the victim, including the purported acquisition of mortgages on properties. Pagani drafted documents to memorialize certain investment deals, accepted funds from the victim and held the funds in accounts he controlled, and he transferred funds to entities controlled by K.S. and others. By the time the victim investor made a third investment, which was to acquire mortgages on properties in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Middletown, Connecticut, Pagani knew that the first two investments had not occurred, and that the third investment was not legitimate. In association with the third investment, the victim wired more than $1.3 million to an account Pagani controlled. These funds were comingled with other funds, which Pagani sent a portion of to an entity for the benefit of K.S. In order to conceal the fraud and to create the appearance that it was a legitimate investment, Pagani wired false interest payments to the victim. In addition, for the 2014 through 2017 tax years, Pagani paid for personal and other expenses using his law firm account and underreported his income on his federal tax returns, resulting in a tax loss of $181,702. Pagani was previously a practicing attorney with a law office in Wethersfield. Pagani pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of tax evasion. Each offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. Pagani is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on December 15, 2021, in Hartford. Pagani has agreed to pay restitution of $1,055,092.50 to the victim investor, and $181,702 in tax to the IRS. This is Pagani's third federal conviction. This matter is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. McGarry and Jennifer R. Laraia.
