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Moriches resident James Castellano, age 55, was sentenced to a term of between two and six years in prison for embezzling more than $300,000 from Hyundai of New Rochelle, according to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
Officials said that in 2017, while an employee at the Palmer Avenue dealership, Castellano diverted more than $307,000 in checks made out to Hyundai into his personal bank account, resulting in a felony charge of grand larceny.
They noted that because he didn’t report the embezzled money on his personal income tax return for that year, he was also charged with a felony count of criminal tax fraud.
Castellano pleaded guilty in May 2021.
Officials noted that Castellano was sentenced to one to three years in prison on the tax charge to run concurrently with the two to six-year sentence on the larceny charge and ordered to pay $20,455 in restitution to New York State.
He was also ordered to pay $307,610 in restitution to the dealership.
“This case should serve as a warning to anyone considering similar criminal acts: you will be caught and face serious consequences,” acting New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Amanda Hiller said. "We’ll continue to work with all our partners in law enforcement, including the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, to root out tax fraud in all its variations.”
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