Men from Clinton, Fitchburg face new counts

» A federal grand jury brought additional charges against a Clinton man and Fitchburg man in connection with their alleged involvement in an employment tax and mail fraud scheme, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling.

Juliano Fernandes, 39, of Clinton, and Anderson Dos Santos, 36, of Fitchburg, were charged in a superseding indictment on Thursday, according to Lelling’s office.

The superseding indictment charges Fernandes with two counts of false statements and charges Dos Santos with two counts of filing a false tax return, according to the announcement.

In January 2021, Fernandes was charged with 11 counts of failure to pay employment taxes and two counts of mail fraud and Dos Santos was charged with one count of mail fraud, according to the announcement.

According to the superseding indictment, Fernandes made

two false statements to the Department of Labor in August 2017 concerning the value of property he owned in Lunenburg and that he never had any responsibility or control over the payroll for Force Corp., of which he was a corporate officer.

In addition, Dos Santos was charged with two counts of filing a false and fraudulent tax return related to his 2013 and 2014 personal tax returns, according to the announcement.

According to charging documents, Fernandes exercised management and control over Force Corp. and AB Construction, both Massachusetts-based construction companies.

Between 2015 and 2017, Fernandes willfully failed to account for and pay over employment taxes for Force Corp. and AB Construction to the Internal Revenue Service, according to the charging documents.

In addition, from approximately April 2013 through January 2017, Fernandes allegedly engaged in a scheme to defraud worker’s compensation insurance carriers for Force Corp. by misrepresenting the number of employees and amount of wages paid to its employees.

The charge of mail fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Similarly, from approximately December 2013 through April 2016, Fernandes and Dos Santos engaged in a scheme to defraud worker’s compensation insurance carriers for AB Construction by misrepresenting the number of employees and amount of wages paid to its employees, according to the charging documents.

The charge of mail fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

The charges of failure to pay over employment taxes and making a false statement each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

The charge of filing a false tax return provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U. S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.