BRIDGEPORT — A local attorney has been sentenced to prison for failing to file tax returns and subsequently failing to pay more than $3 million in taxes, penalties, and interest owed.

David X. Sullivan, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Michael Simes, 51, of Newtown, was sentenced on September 14 by US District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to ten months of imprisonment and one year of supervised release for offenses related to his failure to file tax returns and to pay more than $3.1 million in taxes, penalties, and interest owed.

According to court documents and statements made in court, for the 2013 tax year and the 2016 through 2022 tax years, Simes, an attorney, failed to file US Individual Income Tax Returns, resulting in a tax loss to the IRS of $1,876,307 on gross income of more than $5.6 million.

For the 2016 through 2020 tax years, Simes requested filing extensions until October of each year, but still failed to file and pay the taxes he owed.

In addition, Simes filed tax returns for the 2012, 2014, and 2015 tax years, but he paid only a fraction of the taxes reported as due, thereby incurring substantial penalties and interest.

Simes was ordered to pay restitution of the presently outstanding balance of $2,871,676.

On March 9, 2026, Simes pleaded guilty to three counts of failure to file a tax return. Released on a $40,000 bond, he is required to report to prison on January 20, 2027.

The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.