CT tree service owner pleads guilty to concealing income, failing to file tax returns for 5 years – Hartford Courant

The owner of a Connecticut tree service business pleaded guilty to tax evasion for concealing income and failing to file taxes for multiple years, federal officials said.

Bill G. Makros, 57, of Danbury, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. He faces a maximum of five years in federal prison.

Court records show Makros owned a tree service business known as Budget Tree and Stump Removal Service, LLC. From 2016 through 2020, Makros reportedly hid his income by receiving payments in the form of checks made payable to cash or to him personally and by depositing the checks into bank accounts other than his business account, according to court records.

Makros also reportedly cashed check payments and did not deposit the money into any business or personal accounts, court records show.

Makros reportedly failed to file his federal individual tax returns for the 2016 through 2020 tax years and failed to pay $140,462 in taxes on approximately $517,000 in net profits, according to court records.

In addition, Makros applied for pandemic relief loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of that process, he submitted IRS Schedule C forms for his business that purported to be part of his tax returns for 2019 and 2020, even though he had not filed tax returns with the IRS for those years, federal officials said.

Makros is currently released on a personal recognizance bond pending sentencing. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 27, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

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CT tree service owner pleads guilty to concealing income, failing to file tax returns for 5 years - Hartford Courant