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John Goggins, 63, of Chatham, grossed $54 million "from wages, restricted stock awards, the exercise of annual nonqualified stock options, interest, dividends, and gains from stock sales" from 2018 through 2021, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
"Goggins failed to file federal income tax returns for those years," Sellinger said.
Goggins had been a senior vice-president and general counsel with Moody's, which rates the creditworthiness of state and local government bonds, after serving as counsel at Dow Jones.
Rather than risk the potential outcome of a trial, he took a deal from the government.
Goggins retired last September after 24 years with the company, then pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark last week to misdemeanor charges of willfully failing to file federal income tax returns for the four years.A spokesperson for Goggins said:“Mr. Goggins deeply regrets and has accepted full responsibility for his failure to file certain personal income tax returns. This is a personal matter that has nothing to do with his work. "Mr. Goggins has paid the outstanding taxes, interest, and penalties due in connection with his misdemeanor offenses and looks forward to putting this situation behind him. He has been working with tax professionals to ensure that he remains in full compliance with his tax obligations.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa scheduled sentencing for Sept. 6, 2024. Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors apparently are going to seek a year in prison.
Sellinger credited members of IRS-Criminal Investigation with the investigation leading to the plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shontae D. Gray of his Economic Crimes Unit in Newark and Trial Attorney Kenneth Vert of the U.S. Department of Justice's Tax Division.
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