Palm City accountant facing federal wire fraud charges

FORT PIERCE — A Palm City accountant is facing federal wire fraud charges an indictment unsealed Thursday shows, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

A grand jury returned the indictment on Nov. 29 charging Joseph Rizzuti, the owner of Beacon Accounting Services in Palm City, with one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the Internal Revenue Service and four counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Rizzuti, interfered with the IRS's ability to collect taxes owed by two clients, stole payments from those clients intended for the IRS, and made misrepresentations to those clients and to the IRS. Rizzuti is accused of stealing about $265,000 from one client and about $23,500 from another client, money that the clients gave him to pay to the IRS, the release states.

If convicted, Rizzuti faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the four wire fraud counts and a maximum sentence of three years for the obstruction count. He is also subject to fines and mandatory restitution, if convicted. An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.