Shelton business owner and poker pro sentenced to 14 months on tax fraud charge

A Shelton resident and business owner who has a parallel career as a professional poker player was sentenced to 14 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading pleaded guilty in December to one count of tax evasion involving more than $800,000 in gambling winnings.

Guy Smith, who owns and operates the Milford-based commercial interior construction company Centerline Interiors LLC, withdrew funds from both his business and personal bank accounts for his gambling business.

During the tax years 2012 through 2016 tax years, Smith furnished his tax preparer with a summary of Centerline”™s income and expenses, which the tax preparer used to prepare Smith”™s federal income tax returns.

However, Smith failed to provide his tax preparer with bank statements. As a result, he intentionally failed to report approximately $1.1 million of income he received from Centerline Interiors. Furthermore, Smith concealed his gambling income from his tax preparer and paid no income taxes on these winnings, which totaled more than $1 million.

As a result of his actions, Smith failed to pay a total of $821,415 in federal income taxes. As part of his sentencing, Smith was order to pay all outstanding taxes, interest and penalties.

Smith, who is released on bond, is required to report to prison on June 30.