Mass. fisherman gets year in prison for evading nearly $380,000 in income taxes

A federal judge sentenced a Connecticut man to a year in prison last week for not paying taxes on over $1.4 million in income he earned while working as a fisherman in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Durham resident Brian Kobus, 49, pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion in July, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release. On Oct. 16, a federal judge sentenced him to a year and a day in prison, a year of supervised release and to pay nearly $380,000 in restitution.

Kobus worked as a commercial fisherman and deckhand for various fishing companies in Massachusetts for over 30 years, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. He earned over $1.4 million in taxable income between 2011 and 2013 and between 2017 and 2021.