Bloomingdale man gets 9-year sentence for tax evasion, fraud

A Bloomingdale businessman received a 9-year federal prison sentence for tax evasion and various fraud schemes, according to court papers.

Joseph J. Cipolla Jr., 39, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, wire fraud and mail fraud last year in connection with a series of schemes that netted him nearly $1.2 million, federal prosecutors said.

Authorities said Cipolla concealed his income repeatedly from 2015 through 2020 by listing relatives’ personal information on casino tax forms and listing others as owners of vehicles or the renters of airplane hangars at the DuPage Airport in West Chicago.

Cipolla also bilked the government out of more than $1 million by falsely applying for loans through the COVID-19 era Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, prosecutors alleged.

As part of his guilty plea, Cipolla was ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution to various federal agencies and the state of Illinois.