EG Man who Filed 58 Fake Tax Returns to Steal $3.5m is Sentenced

An East Greenwich man and former owner of the SoHo Ristorante restaurant in Narragansett will serve more than five years in federal prison for his involvement in a $3.5 million tax refund fraud scheme.

Anthony Delfarno, 53, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence in June to using the personal information of his children and other family members as well as a girlfriend to file fraudulent tax returns.

Delfarno also pleaded guilty to using a dozen corporations he created in the scheme, said U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha.

Along with the 65-month sentence, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr. also ordered DelFarno to serve three years of supervised release after he gets out of jail. He also must pay restitution to the government in the amount of $1.4 million.

All told, Delfarno pleaded guilty to 11 counts of mail fraud, 28 counts of theft of government funds and three counts of aggravated identity theft.

Neronha said Delfarno filed twenty-five false individual income tax returns for tax years 2008 through 2011 in his own name, the names of several family members, including five of his children, and in the name of a girlfriend, claiming fraudulent refunds totaling $1.1 million dollars. Delfarno signed the returns either electronically or manually. Approximately $400,000 was paid out.

Additionally Delfarno filed thirty false corporation income tax returns, for which he claimed refunds of $2.4 million dollars. $1 million dollars was paid to the defendant. The corporations were formed by Delfarno in order to execute the scheme.

The case is part of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which was established to “wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes,” Neronha said. “The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.”

he case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard W. Rose.

The matter was investigated by the United States Attorney’s Office, IRS Criminal Investigation and Rhode Island State Police.

Below is the June grand jury indictment: