MIAMI — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that Sebastian resident Carl Libertino, 42, will serve 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion. He will also have to pay back the government more than $200,000.
Libertino had been arrested and charged with tax evasion and pled guilty in July.
U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez sentenced Libertino to 30 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, the judge ordered that Libertino repay to the Government $202,160 in restitution for unpaid taxes.
According to the Department of Justice, Libertino failed to file personal income tax returns for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, during which time the Sebastian man received “substantial income.” Libertino received more than $443,160 in 2006 alone and did not claim the income.
U.S. Department of Justice officials said that most of Libertino’s income came from persons who thought they were investing their money through Libertino. They said that the Sebastian man also operated mostly in cash and withdrew small enough amounts of money to evade federal currency transaction reporting requirements.
Libertino also purchased large ticket items in cash, including, for example, purchasing a new car using a $20,000 cashier’s check and $7,620 in cash.
Officials with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service and the Criminal Investigation Division assisted in the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore Cooperstein.
