June 29, 2022

The owner of a commercial and residential paving business in Hanover was sentenced today for a tax evasion scheme in which he failed to report nearly $1.7 million in income.

William E. Dyer was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young to one year and one day in prison and one year of supervised release. Dyer was also ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $597,881. On Nov. 18, 2021, Dyer pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.

Dyer owned and operated Pilgrim Paving. From 2014 through 2018, Dyer diverted payments from Pilgrim Paving customers by directing customers to write checks to him and then cashing those checks. Dyer failed to report over $1.7 million in diverted receipts and additional business deposits on the tax returns that he filed or that he directed a tax preparer to file on his behalf. As a result of this conduct, Dyer underreported his personal income tax obligations, causing a loss to the Internal Revenue Service of nearly $600,000.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.