An Ohio contractor faces up to nine years in prison after being indicted on three counts of tax fraud.

Roy W. Bradford, of Ludlow Falls, Ohio, was indicted on two counts of filing a false tax return and one count of corruptly endeavoring to impede the Internal Revenue Service, the Justice Department and IRS announced Oct. 15.

According to the indictment, Bradford, who owned and operated Bradford Builders, filed false 2003 and 2004 tax returns that inflated his labor costs and understated his income. As a result, Bradford allegedly claimed less net profit and taxable income than he actually earned. The company built wooden frames for residential construction.

According to the indictment, Bradford corruptly endeavored to impede the IRS in several ways:

• He filed Forms 1099, informational tax returns, which inflated the amounts that he actually paid his workers.

• He filed Forms 1099 that contained tax identification numbers for the workers that he knew were false.

• He sometimes paid the girlfriends or wives of his workers, because of each worker's immigration status, then filed false Forms 1099 stating that the girlfriends or wives worked for him.

Additionally, during the civil audit and criminal investigation, Bradford provided documents and made statements to the IRS that he knew were false, the indictment said.

If convicted, Bradford faces a maximum sentence of nine years in prison and a $750,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by Justice Department Tax Division Trial Attorney Jerrod Patterson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vipal Patel. The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.

Additional information about the Justice Department's Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.