Businessman gets prison for federal tax evasion of $4.8M

A Connecticut businessman who prosecutors say led the IRS on a "wild goose chase" by avoiding paying more than $4.8 million in federal income taxes has been sentenced.

Federal prosecutors say 58-year-old David Adams was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford.

The Old Saybrook man pleaded guilty last year to multiple offenses including tax evasion and making and subscribing a false tax return.

Prosecutors say Adams engaged the IRS in the decades-long chase to avoid paying taxes as far back as the 1980s.

Officials say Adams hid $4.7 million in profits after selling his stake in an online floral business in 2011. Prosecutors say Adams lied to IRS officers and filed fraudulent returns.

Adams has been ordered to pay back taxes including interest and penalties.