LOCAL

Uncasville businesswoman faces 5-year prison term after pleading guilty to tax evasion

John Penney
The Bulletin

A 58-year-old Uncasville businesswoman faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty on Wednesday in federal court to failing to report more than $800,000 in taxable income, federal prosecutors said.

Kathryn Pocock, the owner of Sunshine Cleaning, LLC, a home-cleaning company, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a single count of tax evasion and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8.

Between 2015-19, Pocock withdrew approximately $855,000 from the business and failed to report those proceeds on the relevant tax forms or her federal income tax returns, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut. 

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Prosecutors said an investigation found Pocock regularly cashed client checks paid to her business; deposited some checks into her personal bank account; and paid her employees “under the table.” 

Pocock also wrote checks payable to cash from her personal and business bank accounts and paid employees in cash without properly collecting and paying employment tax to the IRS or sales and use taxes owed to the state, the release stated.

Pocock provided her tax preparer with false spreadsheets and supporting documentation that significantly understated her income and employee-related expenses, prosecutors said.

Pocock, who is free pending her sentencing, has agreed to pay $213,965 in restitution to the IRS and another $33,514 to the state of Connecticut.

 The investigation was conducted by the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division.

John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965