Medford Construction Owner Sentenced for Tax Fraud and False Statements

BOSTON – A Quincy man has been sentenced in federal court for his involvement in a tax fraud scheme that led to a tax loss of approximately $2.8 million and for providing false statements in relation to a fatal workplace incident.

Mauricio Baiense, 57, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young to 18 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $2,824,577.45 to the U.S. government. Baiense pleaded guilty in April 2024 to multiple charges, including one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, seven counts of failing to collect and pay taxes, one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, and one count of making false statements. Baiense had been indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2022.

Baiense owned Contract Framing Builders, Inc. (CFB), a construction company based in Medford. As the company's owner, Baiense was responsible for filing CFB’s quarterly employment tax returns and ensuring the company paid its IRS payroll taxes. Between 2013 and 2017, Baiense orchestrated a scheme in which $11 million in checks were drawn from CFB’s corporate account, directed to nominee entities controlled by him, rather than legitimate subcontractors. Baiense had these checks cashed at check-cashing businesses, using the proceeds to fund an "off-the-books" cash payroll for CFB employees. He did not report these cash wages to the IRS and failed to pay employment taxes on the wages provided in cash. Additionally, Baiense assisted in preparing at least one fraudulent employment tax return that understated the actual wages paid to CFB’s workers.

Baiense also provided false testimony during an investigation into a fatal workplace accident involving one of his employees. Under oath during a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) interview, he falsely stated that the deceased employee was not employed by his company.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Stuart M. Goldberg, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division; Jeff Erskine, Acting Regional Administrator of the Department of Labor OSHA Region 1; Jonathan Wlodyka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General in Boston. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Tobin and Trial Attorney Thomas F. Koelbl from the Justice Department’s Tax Division, with valuable assistance from various agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and the OSHA Criminal Investigations Team.