Feds: Town man faces prison on tax charge

GUILFORD — A town man pleaded guilty Thursday after failing to pay taxes for years, agreeing to pay more than $2 million in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Connecticut.

Christopher Jardine, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to pay over withholding taxes before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley, officials said in a release.

The charge stemmed from his work as partowner of D&A Construction Management Inc., a Branford-based company, in which he was responsible for collecting and paying income, Medicare and Social Security taxes, among other levies, on behalf of employees.

Between 2016 and 2019, Jardine and the company withheld $868,000 in such taxes from employees’ paychecks, but failed to turn the money over to the Internal Revenue Service, officials said.

“Jardine also represented to the IRS that D&A lacked the ability to pay, but he used millions of dollars in company funds to pay personal expenses, including purchases of a 52-foot cigarette boat, a Range Rover, high-end clothing, and auto parts, and to make payments on behalf of Straight Jacket USA, LLC, a Guilford business controlled by Jardine,” offiials said.

As part of his guilty plea, Jardine also admitted to evading personal income tax liabilities for multiple tax years between 2007 and 2015, officials said.

He agreed to pay approximately $2.07 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, officials said, which includes interest and penalties. So far, he has sent approximately $1.2 million, officials said.

Jardine, facing up to five years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced July 28. He is free on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.