Florida man hit with 48 months for tax crimes, immigration fraud

FLORIDA – A Key West man has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for tax and immigration crimes, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced.

According to the DOJ, Volodymyr Ogorodnychuk, of Key West, the manager of labor staffing companies in South Florida, was sentenced last week to 48 months in prison for tax and immigration crimes related to the operation of those businesses.

As part of his plea, Ogorodnychuk admitted that he and his co-conspirators paid the workers without withholding Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes from their wages and then did not report those wages to the IRS as required by law, the DOJ said.

Ogorodnychuk also reportedly admitted he and his co-conspirators defrauded the IRS out of more than $3.5 million in employment taxes.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately January 2016 through October 2020, Ogorodnychuk helped operate Paradise Choice LLC, Paradise Choice Cleaning LLC, Tropical City Services LLC, and Tropical City Group LLC, all of which were labor staffing companies in southern Florida.

The staffing companies facilitated the employment of individuals in hotels, bars, and restaurants in Key West and other locations, even though the employees were not authorized to work in the United States, the DOJ said in its statement.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez for the Southern District of Florida ordered Ogorodnychuk to serve three years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined within 90 days.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty, trial attorneys Jessica A. Kraft and Nicholas J. Schilling Jr. of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Clark of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.