Abington Paving Firm Owner Gets Prison Time for Tax Evasion

ABINGTON — The owner of an Abington paving company will spend one year in prison and pay nearly $785,000 in restitution after he was sentenced Monday on federal tax evasion charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Weymouth resident Robert Brainard, 52, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and one year of supervised release after pleading guilty in July to underreporting his income for seven straight years.

Brainard, the former owner of Abington-based Got Pavement Needs, Inc., has also been ordered to pay $784,799 in restitution to the IRS for unpaid income and employment taxes.

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The U.S. Attorney's Office said Brainard underreported income on his personal tax returns from 2014 through 2021.

According to the office, this resulted in a tax loss of around $594,000.

He also changed ownership of his company in a straw sale to hide his control of the business, while actually continuing to manage the firm and control its profits.

The office said Brainard used the illegal savings from tax evasion to fund cash payroll for company employees off-the-books.

He also did not pay employment taxes for the cash payroll, authorities said.

Brainard's case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit in the U.S. Attorney's Office.

U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins and IRS Criminal Investigations Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Joleen Simpson announced his sentencing Oct. 17.