BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — After committing tax fraud, a 72-year-old former Connecticut resident was sentenced Friday in Bridgeport to 18 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Kevin Biebel currently lives in Hardeeville, S.C. but previously resided in New Milford. Court documents and statements say Biebel operated Art Metal Industries, LLC, or AMI, a metal fabrication business.
According to prosecutors, AMI had total gross receipts of more than $1.5 million and a net profit of more than $550,000 in 2017. That year, Biebel transferred over $350,000 from AMI to his personal bank account for various personal expenditures.
Prosecutors say that in 2018 the Internal Revenue Service attempted to collect delinquent payroll taxes from Biebel for AMI and told him to file delinquent Individual Income Tax Returns (Forms 1040) for the 2016 and 2017 tax years.
That September, Biebel filed the returns, fraudulently reporting that he had zero total income and zero total tax due for both 2016 and 2017.
In 2018, AMI received more than $2.7 million in gross receipts and made a profit of over $1.2 million, according to prosecutors, who say that year he transferred funds from an AMI bank account to his personal bank account and another bank account held in the name of Diego Trust LLC. Diego Trust LLC served as a limited liability company for which Biebel was the sole listed member.
Biebel reportedly used more than $750,000 in funds from those accounts to purchase his South Carolina home and other assets. Prosecutors say he failed to file individual income tax returns for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years.
Biebel failed to report more than $2.8 million in business income from AMI between 2016 and 2020, which resulted in a tax loss of around $900,000. He also didn’t withhold and pay over approximately $300,000 in employment taxes.
On Friday, a U.S. District judge demanded that Biebel pay $1,208,801 in restitution.
On April 30, Biebel pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. He was released on a $50,000 bond and must report to prison on Jan. 7, 2025.
The investigation was completed by the IRS's Criminal Investigation Division.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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