Former Big-Time NJ Businessman Sent To Fed Pen For Payroll Scheme

Jerry Carter Jr., 42, a self-described self-made millionaire was once touted as one of New Jersey’s “Top 40 Business People Under 40.’’ Then things went south.

The Mercer County resident ended up spending more than two years behind bars on a tax evasion conviction after failing to report $1.8 million in income from a Hoboken payroll company he founded.

Instead of staying straight following his release, Carter and two accomplices hatched a scheme that got payroll companies to give them $134,000 in cash that they never intended to repay, according to an IRS complaint on file in U.S. District Court.

It was an intricate scam, agents charged.

The trio began by reaching out to payroll companies posing as representatives of bogus companies seeking payroll service for imaginary employees at fake companies, the IRS said in a release.

To justify the request, they stole identities and obtained more than three dozen bogus employer identification numbers, the service said.

They also produced bogus corroboration to corroborate purported salary figures – including W-4 forms, employee withholding allowance certificates and voided checks and direct-deposit sheets, according to the service.

“In reality, the payment information that Carter and his co-conspirators provided to the payroll companies was for at least 29 bank accounts and prepaid debit cards controlled by Carter and his co-conspirators,” the IRS release says.

Although they promised to repay the money – as well as fees and commissions -- Carter and his accomplices used it for themselves instead, it says.

Caught again, Carter eventually took a deal from the government. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in August 2019 and was sentenced Wednesday.

Eight years ago, Port Authority police said they grabbed Carter before he could jump from the George Washington Bridge. He reportedly told them he didn’t want to go back to prison following a parole violation.

Because there’s no parole in the federal prison system, Carter must serve just about all 24 months of his new sentence, followed by three years of supervised release. He also must pay $217,274 in restitution as part of his plea deal.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Naazneen Bashir Khan secured the plea and sentencing.

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