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Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
PROVIDENCE – A Cranston man, previously twice convicted for federal tax charges, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for tax evasion, announced United States Attorney Charles Calenda.
William N. L’Europa was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. to two years’ probation and ordered to pay $1,367,336.08 in restitution to the IRS for unpaid taxes, penalties, fees, and interest owed for the years 2007 through 2013.
L’Europa pleaded guilty on August 14, 2025, to tax evasion, admitting that he failed to pay more than $1.3 million owed to the IRS.
According to court documents, L’Europa was previously convicted in 2012 of conspiracy to defraud the United States and filing a false tax return after he and his business partner underreported business receipts for tax years 2007 through 2010, resulting in the underpayment of more than $500,000 in federal taxes. In January 2013, he was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to file accurate, amended federal tax returns and pay all taxes due to the IRS.
After release from federal prison, the IRS issued deficiency notices to L’Europa for payment of the over $500,000 he owed. Court records reflect that in March 2019, L’Europa submitted documentation to the IRS falsely indicating that he had little or no income, causing the IRS to suspend collection efforts. In 2022, L’Europa signed an Offer in Compromise to reduce his tax liability while knowingly understating his personal income. Investigators determined that he manipulated business finances and records to conceal income and personal expenditures, including the purchase of a new motorcycle, the payment of a debt owed to the State of Rhode Island, and the down payment on a new truck for his wife. His evasion of payment resulted in growth of his tax debt to $1,367,336.08.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.
The matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.