Summary

On September 5, 2014, Scott Bonamase, Owner, and David Bonamase, Project Engineer, both of Bonamase Contracting, were sentenced in U.S. District Court, Youngstown, Ohio. Scott Bonamase was sentenced to 21 months incarceration; 3 years supervised release, and ordered to pay over $138 thousand in restitution for the willful failure to collect or pay tax, and for false statements. David Bonamase was sentenced to 21 months incarceration and 3 years supervised release for the willful failure to collect or pay tax.

Between 2007 and 2009, Bonamase Contracting worked on federally funded Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) construction projects. These projects, which included a project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, were valued at approximately $1.1 million. Our investigation disclosed that they conspired to submit false tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), underreported employees' quarterly wages, and made false statements on certified payroll forms indicating that employees were paid prevailing wages, when they were not.

We conducted this investigation with the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (OIG), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – OIG, and the IRS – Criminal Investigation Division.