Date: June 11, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov The former project manager of a now-defunct luxury home building business in West Springfield. Mass. has been convicted following a five-day jury trial of conspiring to defraud the United States. Jason Pecoy, of Wilbraham, was convicted on June 7, 2024 of two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Sept. 12, 2024. “Jason Pecoy was convicted for his role in an elaborate scheme with his father and Kevin Kennedy to defraud the United States by concealing money and maintaining false books, all so that Kennedy could avoid taxes for the construction of two luxury homes,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Jason Pecoy decided that assisting in his father’s illegal efforts to support Kennedy’s greed was more important than following the law. This conviction is a reminder to others that criminal actions have consequences.” “The conviction of Jason Pecoy demonstrates the IRS’s commitment to identifying and prosecuting all who choose to violate the tax laws,” said Special Agent in Charge, Harry T. Chavis Jr., Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office. “Pecoy made every effort to conceal his income from the IRS and evade paying his fair share of his taxes. Tax evasion is not a victimless crime, it impacts every American by stealing resources vital to maintaining public infrastructure and enhancing social welfare.” Jason Pecoy was previously indicted in December 2019 along with his father, Kent Pecoy, and Kevin M. Kennedy, the former owner of a golf management company, for conspiring to defraud the United States by concealing cash payments for the construction of Kennedy’s two homes in East Longmeadow and West Dennis. The defendants were later charged in a superseding indictment in January 2020. On Dec. 11, 2023, Kennedy was convicted by a federal jury for conspiracy to defraud the United States and making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on April 24, 2024. On May 16, 2024, Kent Pecoy pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. Kent Pecoy is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20, 2024. From 2009 through 2016, Kennedy conspired with Kent Pecoy, the owner of Kent Pecoy and Sons Construction Inc. (KPSC), and his son, Jason Pecoy, a KPSC project manager, to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service and the collection of taxes by concealing Kennedy’s cash payments for construction of the East Longmeadow and West Dennis homes. Kennedy paid the Pecoys in cash, all of which the Pecoys failed to deposit into business bank accounts, but rather distributed the cash directly to vendors and subcontractors. When they did deposit the cash, the Pecoys deposited funds in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid the filing of currency transaction reports. The evidence proved that the Pecoys created and maintained separate ledgers documenting Kennedy’s cash payments, created and maintained false contracts and cover sheets, and created false entries in KPSC’s accounting system to conceal the cash payments. The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and IRS SAC Chavis made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Breslow and Neil L. Desroches of the Springfield Branch Office are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Eric B. Powers of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
