Business Owner Indicted for $2.5M Tax Evasion

0:00A Connecticut business owner and his accomplice just got slapped with a 20-count federal indictment for dodging $2.5 million in taxes. Michael Joseph Meade, 61 from Old Saybrook, ran innovative components and liquidlevel.com making liquid-level controls. He owed the IRS big time from 2001 through 2010, plus 2012 and 2013. In 2016, Meade allegedly pulled stunts like yanking cash from business accounts for cash heirs checks, funneling money to family trust, and crypto wallets he controlled. He set up fresh bank accounts under fake company names, bogus tax IDs, and even used stand-ins to hide his tracks. Meanwhile, he bought a vacation spot in Maine through a shell company and opened accounts with a phony social security number. He straight up told customers he was out of the picture and rerouted their payments to his secret spots, messing with IRS collections. Around 2021, Meade linked up with Chetley West, 70 from North Carolina, to block the IRS

1:04hard structuring deals and feeding fake. Tax-info to customers, which led to bogus filings, they faced charges like conspiracy, interfering with tax laws, and aiding false docks, stacking up to a max of 41 years inside. Both got pinched this week after a new haven grand jury dropped the hammer on April 8th. It's locked down till his Thursday hearing, West's out on $25,000 bond from May 7th court. Feds are done playing games with these evasion pros. Stay informed with Hartford News today, AI-powered updates.