A 71-year-old former CT man is guilty of tax fraud. He owes feds $1.2 million.

A former Connecticut man has pleaded guilty in federal court to a tax offense and has to pay more than $1 million in restitution , according to federal authorities.

Kevin Biebel, 71, now of Hardeeville, South Carolina and formerly of New Milford, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to a charge of filing a false tax return, according to federal authorities.

Authorities, citing court documents and statements made in court, said Biebel operated Art Metal Industries, LLC, a metal fabrication business and in 2017, the company had “total gross receipts of more $1.5 million and a net profit of more than $550,000.”

Biebel in 2017 “transferred more than $350,000 from AMI to his personal bank account for various personal expenditures,” federal authorities said in a statement. Then, in 2018, the IRS sought to “collect delinquent payroll taxes from Biebel for AMI and told him to file delinquent Individual Income Tax Returns (Forms 1040) for the 2016 and 2017 tax years.”

While Biebel filed the returns in 2018, they “fraudulently reported that he had zero total income and zero total tax due for both years,” though AMI in 2018 received more than “$2.7 million in gross receipts and had a profit of more than $1.2 million,” federal authorities said.

Also in 2018, federal authorities said, Biebel transferred funds from an AMI bank account to his personal bank account and another bank account held in the name of Diego Trust LLC, a limited liability company for which Biebel was the sole listed member and “used in excess of $750,000 in funds from those accounts to purchase a home in South Carolina and other assets.”

Biebel also failed to file individual income tax returns for 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years.

“Between 2016 and 2020, Biebel failed to report more than $2.8 million in business income from AMI, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $900,000,” federal authorities said. He also “failed to withhold and pay over approximately $300,000 in employment taxes.”

Biebel has agreed to pay restitution of $1,208,801, federal authorities said. He is free on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.

The investigation was done by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division.