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45°
Saturday, apr 27
Tag:
Tax Evasion
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Mayor's Son Who Bought $7.6M Worth Of Real Estate Ducked $2M In Taxes, Feds Charge
A Jersey Shore mayor's son who owed the IRS $2 million never paid it -- and instead bought $7.6 million worth of real estate, federal authorities said following his arrest. Matthew Tucci, 51, of West Long Branch, collected $11.4 million in tax refunds from the country of Denmark for pension plans that he'd established there for friends, acquaintances, and relatives, an indictment returned by a grand jury in Trenton says. Rather than put the money into respective bank accounts that he'd created for the pension plans, Tucci "deposited the funds in five accounts held by five nominee compa…
Police & Fire
Leon Haynes Teaneck Tax Fraud IRS COVID Scam
A Teaneck tax preparer illegally collected $1.43 million for himself and $40 million for clients from the IRS by purposefully exploiting COVID-related credits that neither he nor they were entitled to, a federal indictment alleges. Leon Haynes, 50, was originally arrested on a criminal complaint last July. The investigation leading to the charges continued before a grand jury in Newark. The result: a 55-count indictment for tax evasion, preparing false returns, aggravated ID theft and mail fraud, authorities said. Haynes fraudulently sought more than $150 million from the IRS by claim…
Police & Fire
Ridgewood Contractor Who Ducked Taxes On $3.27 Million Charged In 18-Count Indictment: Feds
A Bergen County contractor avoided taxes on $3.275 million in income over six years through a scheme that the IRS sniffed out, federal authorities said. John Constantino, 67, of Ridgewood, ended up stiffing the government out of $682,735 in corporate and personal income taxes, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said. As sole owner and president, Constantino took steps to conceal both his personal income and assets and those of his fireproofing and painting business between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. attorney said. For starters, Constantino used a false address on his driver’s licen…
Police & Fire
Cyberfootsies
: Ex-NJ Couple, Money Washer Confess $4.5M Online Romance Scam
UPDATE: A former New Jersey couple and a local businesswoman have admitted scamming more than 100 lonely hearts out of $4.5 million in an elaborate online romance scheme, federal authorities charged. Martins Inalegwu, 35, took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Camden on Monday, March 25 to conducting an unlawful money-transmitting business and evading taxes for four straight years. Inalegwu's wife, Steincy Mathieu, 27, had already pleaded guilty to tax evasion last November. Oluwaseyi Fatolu, 56, of Springfield, followed her by admitting this past …
Police & Fire
Bogus Bean Counter Gets 5 Years For $1.5M Scam That Targeted NJ Schools, Nonprofits, More
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A Hoboken woman was sentenced to five years in federal prison for posing as an accountant to steal more than $1.5 million from nonprofits, private schools and religious institutions, among other victims across the state. Yezenia Castillo, 47, will have to serve at least 85% of her sentence -- a few months over four years -- because there's no parole in the federal prison system. From 2012 through 2021, Castillo "falsely claimed to be a CPA who could provide various financial and accounting services to non-profit organizations throughout New Jersey, including private schools and reli…
Police & Fire
Feds: Crooked Bookkeeper Admits Embezzling $900G From Restaurants In NJ, NY, PA (
Update
)
A bookkeeper from New Jersey admitted in federal court that he embezzled more than $900,000 from restaurants he worked for in the Garden State, New York and Pennsylvania, authorities said. Richard Winter, 53, of Pompton Lakes authorized bank wire transfers from some of them, pocketed vendor payments to others and issued checks payable to cash that he then deposited into his own bank accounts, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said. Winter serviced the clients' accounts payable through a company he created called Back Office Pro, a complaint on file in federal court in Newark say…
Police & Fire
Ex-Jersey Shore Construction Company Owner From Long Island Admits Ducking $500G In Taxes
A Long Island man admitted defrauding the government out of more than $500,000 in taxes by using check-cashing businesses to launder income from his former Jersey Shore construction company. The unidentified company that Khuram Raja, 37, owned and operated while living in Manalapan received unreported cash and proceeds from patronizing local check-cashing facilities, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Raja, currently of Locust Valley, NY, also deducted personal expenses from the company’s returns without reporting it, Sellinger said. Raja failed to file business tax ret…
Police & Fire
NJ Attorney Awaits Sentence For Pocketing $2M From Client's Offshore Account, More
UPDATE: A once-prominent attorney from Jersey City is awaiting sentencing after admitting in federal court that he swindled a family he represented out of $2 million and then committed another crime while on pretrial release. The family had retained James R. Lisa, 68, to gather millions that had been moved into offshore bank accounts by relatives decades ago and to resolve any tax issues that arose as a result, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Soon after being retained, he moved more than $6 million back into the United States but told the family the funds still remained offshore, th…
News
Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron Resigns Amid Fraud Indictment
Pete Byron has resigned. The Wildwood mayor, who had been the focus of state and federal investigations into health insurance fraud and tax evasion, quit suddenly, effective Thursday, Sept. 21, his office said in a press statement. Less than a week after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion last March, Byron was indicted by a state grand jury — along with two other elected officials — in an alleged health insurance scam, Daily Voice reported. Byron was sentenced to probation in August on the federal tax charge and faces a state indictment for allegations he submitted false records t…
Business
These 27 NJ Boston Market Stores Have Reopened After Failing To Pay 314 Workers
The 27 Boston Market stores in New Jersey that were issued stop work orders last month for failing to pay hundreds of employees have reopened. It gets better, the workers have been compensated. The chicken chain became the center of an investigation by the state's labor department when East Hanover employee Cathy Grimes reported that she and the dozen workers she managed hadn't been paid for two months, the DOL said. It wasn't long before more employees from across the state came forward, too. An investigation by the DOL found that 27 Boston Market stores in the Garden State had not been …
Police & Fire
Co-Owner Of Two Of Ironbound's Most Popular Portuguese Restaurants Admits $715,780 Tax Fraud
A former 50% owner of two of the most popular Portuguese restaurants in Newark's Ironbound admitted that he cheated the IRS out of $715,780 by paying employees under the table, authorities said. Jorge Fernandes, 76, of West Orange, sold the Iberia Tavern and Iberia Peninsula to a developer for a combined $40 million and closed both restaurants in June amid what turned out to be a federal investigation. Fernandes "was fully aware of his legal obligation to collect payroll taxes from the restaurants’ employees," U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said, "but instead pa…
Police & Fire
NJ Auto Shop Owner Who Stiffed IRS To Wager On Horses Headed To Prison, But Not Furlong
A New Jersey auto repair shop owner who gambled on horse races has to serve a year and a day in federal prison for not ponying up to the IRS, authorities said. Gabriel Ferrari, who was the president and CEO of Buses and Trucks in Linden, tapped his business account for bets at the track, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Ferrari, of Edison, stiffed the government $291,600 in taxes from a cash payroll and didn’t tell his return preparer, the U.S. attorney said. Ferrari took a deal from federal prosecutors rather than risk the potential consequences of a guilty verdict at a trial. He’l…
Police & Fire
NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes
The 75-year-old owner-operator of a New Jersey Italian restaurant faces up to three years in prison after admitting he stiffed the state out of nearly a half-million dollars in sales taxes over a period of nearly seven years. John Garofalo Sr. of Union Township – who owns Mario’s Tutto Bene restaurant in the township -- paid the outstanding $496,374.99 to the state as part of a plea deal that he hopes will get him leniency, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. His assistants will recommend that Superior Court Judge Sherry L. Wilson send Garofalo to state prison for three years …
Police & Fire
Crane Operator Who Made $1.5M At Port Newark Convicted Of Tax Fraud: Feds
A crane mechanic at the Port Newark Container Terminal was convicted by a federal jury of trying to cheat the IRS. Over a five-year period beginning in 2014, Jonathan D. Michael of Union County gave his boss a W-4 falsely claiming that he was exempt from having any federal tax withheld, authorities said. The IRS notified Michael in 2016 that he wasn't entitled to exempt status, but he wrote to the company and contended that his bogus W-4 was correct, they said. Michael, of Springfield, also didn't file any personal income tax returns, even though he was paid roughly $1.5 million in salary,…
Police & Fire
Details Emerge Around Widow Of NJ ‘Animal Whisperer’ Who Continued Vet Practice Without License
The widow of a revered North Jersey veterinarian known as the “animal whisperer” had help from two alleged co-conspirators from New York in continuing to operate her husband’s clinic without a license, it was recently revealed. Alia Muslih, 41, of Montclair originally was accused of posing as a veterinarian following her husband’s death in order to keep the Totowa Animal Hospital open. A massive 77-count grand jury indictment returned earlier this month in Paterson lays out additional details. Included are allegations that Muslih had help from Marco A. Gamarra, 64, of the Bronx and Yaser I…
News
Love At First Site: Ex-NJ Couple, Nigerian Wingman Charged In $4.5M Cyberfootsies Scam
A former New Jersey couple and a Nigerian national scammed more than 100 lonely hearts out of $4.5 million in an elaborate online romance scheme, federal authorities charged. Martins Inalegwu, 34, of Philadelphia and Steincy Mathieu, 26, of Brooklyn cooked up the plot with Moses Chukwuebuka Alexander and several of his Nigerian brethren, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges. Together, they trolled online dating and social media sites for willing marks, whom they “wooed with words of love” on the phone and in emails, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. T…
News
Bogus Bean Counter Admits Pilfering $1.5M From Non-Profits In Englewood, JC, Elsewhere In NJ
A Hudson County woman admitted posing as a certified public accountant to con more than 100 private schools, religious institutions and other non-profit organizations in New Jersey out of $1.5 million, federal authorities said. Among those scammed by Yezenia Castillo, 46, of Hoboken, were a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing affordable housing to Englewood residents and a private elementary and intermediate school in Jersey City, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Posing as a CPA, Castillo got hired “to provide various financial and accounting services" th…
Police & Fire
Fake Accountant Admits Stealing $1.5 Million In Scam That Targeted NJ Schools, Nonprofits: Feds
A Hudson County woman admitted to stealing more than $1.5 million from non-profits, private schools and religious institutions throughout New Jersey by pretending to be an accountant. Yezenia Castillo, a 46-year-old Hoboken resident, pleaded guilty on Thursday, April 6 to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion in U.S. District Court in Newark, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced. For nine years, Castillo falsely claimed to be an accountant, offering her serves to non-profits throughout the state, Sellinger said. Upon being hired, Castillo would charge…
News
Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Indicted In Health Benefits Scam
UPDATE: Less than a week after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion, Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron was indicted by a state grand jury along with two other elected officials in an alleged health insurance scam. Byron, former Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr., and current City Commissioner Steve Mikulski fraudulently participated in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), the indictment alleges. In order to be eligible for the benefits, they needed to be full-time employees “whose hours of work are fixed at 35 or more per week” in their elected positions, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin ex…
News
Wildwood Mayor Admits Tax Dodge: Feds
Wildwood Mayor Peter J. Byron admitted Friday that he ducked paying taxes on $40,425 that he received for working as a salesman for a law firm, federal authorities said. Byron, 67, officially pleaded guilty to twice willfully "aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of fraudulent tax returns" to the IRS for calendar years 2017 and 2018, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on March 24. The mayor still has a state case to deal with. He, former Mayor Ernest V. Troiano Jr. and City Commissioner Steven E. Mikulski were charged last year with fraudulently collecting stat…
News
Climate
OF FEAR: Jersey Doc Admits Harboring Indian Nationals As Unpaid Domestics
A Jersey Shore doctor must pay $642,212 to two undocumented women from India whose true identities she hid for eight years while harboring them as unpaid domestics, federal authorities said. Harsha Sahni, 66, of Tinton Falls, also must cover $200,000 worth of treatment of a brain aneurysm that one of the women suffered while they worked in her and her family's homes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Federal prosecutors required the payments as part of a plea deal that allowed Sahni to avoid the potential consequences of a conviction at a trial, the U.S. attorney said. In exchange, S…
News
$1.3M Owed By Contractors Of Jersey City High-Rise For Labor Violations: State Officials
A multi-agency New Jersey probe resulted in 20 contractors being fined more than $1.3 million in back wages and penalties, state officials said. The contractors were performing construction work at 88 Regent St. in Jersey City. More than 60 investigators, including those from the state Attorney General's Office and Labor Department, conducted an unannounced sweep in the summer of 2021 in response to allegations of workers being underpaid or paid off the books. Grand Street Construction, LLC of Jersey City, the owner/ general contractor on the project, did not return requests for comment.…
News
Passaic County Chiropractor Charged With $372,000 Insurance Fraud
A 69-year-old chiropractor from Passaic County was charged with submitting $372,000 worth of bogus insurance claims, authorities said. Patrick Capizzi of North Haledon was released pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson following his arrest on Monday, Jan. 9, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes announced on Tuesday. Members of her Insurance Fraud Unit charged Capizzi with healthcare claims fraud and tax evasion, the prosecutor said. They began examining Capizzi’s practice in late October 2020 after receiving “a report of inappropriate billi…
News
Tappin
' IT: Manager Admits Embezzling $4.5M From NJ Brain Injury Fund For Sex With Gal Pals
The now-former manager of a fund for traumatic brain injury patients in New Jersey admitted diverting more than $4.5 million in public money to women he was having sex with, authorities said. Harry Pizutelli, 64, of Edison, pleaded guilty by videoconference to conspiring to commit health care fraud before a federal judge in Trenton, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday, Jan. 4. One of the women who benefitted from the scheme, Maritza Flores, 45, of Toms River, pleaded guilty to the same charge, as well as to tax evasion, Sellinger said. In exchange, Pizutelli had amorou…
Police & Fire
4 NJ Police Officers Indicted For Bilking Town For No-Show 'Extra Duty' Assignments: Prosecutor
Four suspended police officers from Central Jersey bilked their town for no-show "extra duty" assignments, authorities said. The Edison Police officers were charged with racketeering, bribery, theft, money laundering and witness tampering, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department said on Friday, Oct. 14. They did not say how much taxpayer money was stolen by the former officers. Sergeant Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, 43, of Edison Township, Patrolman James Panagoulakos, 36, of Jackson Township, Patrolman Gregory&nbs…
News
Small Typo Sends Man To Prison During Martha's Vineyard Vacation
A Philadelphia man hoping to enjoy a week on Martha's Vineyard wound up in jail because of a nearly 10-year-old typo, CBS Boston reports. Angus McCoubrey, 37, and his wife were involved in a minor fender bender at the start of their weeklong stay on the island last month and thought little of it when they called police to report the incident, the outlet said. But a few minutes after the couple made the call, McCoubrey said he noticed an Edgartown patrol car racing to catch up with them. The officer ordered him out of the car and put McCoubrey in handcuffs, CBS said. The charge? …
News
Ex-NJ Business Owner From Brooklyn Admits Ducking Taxes On $4.1M Company Buyout
UPDATE: A former New Jersey business owner admitted short-changing the IRS by $1.1 million after selling his stock to the company. David Seruya, 42, of Brooklyn sold his shares to the Edison-based home-warranty company for more than $4.1 million in a 2014 buyout, federal authorities said. The deal included a lump sum payment and installment payments spread out over 24 months, according to the U.S. Justice Department. On three straight tax returns, from 2014 through 2016, Seruya gave his return preparer “false and incomplete income information,” underreporting the income he received from th…
News
70-Something Brothers Who Owned Popular Jersey Shore Pizzeria Face Sentencing For Lying To IRS
UPDATE: The saga of two brothers in their 70s who got caught paying the employees of their popular Jersey Shore pizzeria under the proverbial table is nearing its end. The once-proud co-owners of Mario's Pizzeria in Ocean City, Giuseppe "Joe" Cannuscio, 74, and Ernesto Cannuscio, 70, are scheduled to be sentenced for tax evasion this fall. Both men took deals from the government rather than risk trial, pleading guilty in federal court in Camden to conspiring to evade taxes within a couple weeks of one another. Employees at Mario's, which was founded in 1977, were paid off the books over th…
News
CPA From Passaic County Admits Scheme To Hide $150,000 From IRS
A CPA from Passaic County admitted trying to hide $150,000 from the taxman with a little help from a friend. His unidentified pal compensated William Kawam, 57, of Hewitt, for his accounting services by giving him a credit card belonging to one of the friend’s businesses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Kawam racked up $146,605 in charges from 2015 through 2017 that neither he nor his friend reported, Sellinger said. The scheme shortchanged the Internal Revenue Service by $54,400, he said. Kawam, a former partner at SKC & Co. LLC in Boonton, took a deal from the government rat…
News
Guilty
: Sussex County Diner Owner Failed To Pay Thousands In Taxes, IRS Says
The owner of a Sussex County diner admitted in court to evading taxes, authorities announced. Newton resident Dimitrios Protogeropoulos, 60, pleaded guilty via video conference to one count of personal income tax evasion for the 2016 tax year, according to a release from the IRS. Protogeropoulos, who owns The Hampton Diner in Newton, admitted to “skimming” a large portion of the restaurant’s cash receipts for personal use, authorities said. He also paid certain restaurant workers using cash in order to avoid paying personal income taxes. Protogeropoulos admitted that he neglected to repor…
News
Bean Counter Who Embezzled Hundreds Of Thousands From Bergen Tour Company Sentenced
An accountant from Lyndhurst was sentenced to a plea-bargained 21 months in federal prison for her role in embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a guided tour company she worked for. Ruby Baroni, 55, took a deal from the government rather than face trial – the same as her former manager, Estela Laluf, 76, of River Edge. Laluf was sentenced in April to an agreed-upon 27 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals sentenced Baroni on Thursday to two years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $295,297 in restitution. Between 2010 and 2016, she and Lal…
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