A Vineyard Haven CPA on April 28 was sentenced for filing false income tax returns in which he underreported more than $800,000 in income for three years.

Roger A. Armstrong, a CPA and tax preparer who lived and worked on Martha’s Vineyard and owned rental property in Massachusetts and Florida, has been sentenced to three years of probation, the first nine months of which will be served in home confinement, and ordered to pay a fine of $3,000.  At the sentencing hearing, Armstrong paid restitution of $389,365, which included his taxes owed, as well as interest and penalties.

As a sole proprietor, Armstrong was required to report his gross receipts and his business profit or loss on his individual income tax returns and also was to report any rental income he received.  For tax years 2009 through 2011, Armstrong filed tax returns in which he significantly underreported both his business gross receipts and his rental income.  Specifically, he did not report a total of $790,000 in gross receipts and $47,000 in rental income, and, as a result of the underreporting, did not pay $200,000 in taxes.

Armstrong pleaded guilty in January to three counts of filing false tax returns. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra S. Bower of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.