|
||||||||
|
||||||||
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Robert L. Megna today announced that the owner of a defunct used car dealership in Rochester was sentenced to 46 consecutive Sundays in a Monroe County jail work-release program for filing fraudulent sales tax returns.
Pedro Delgado, 32, of 630 Whistlers Cove Lane, Rochester, the owner of Pete's Auto, also of Rochester, had pled guilty last December to underreporting his used car sales by $544,340 and failing to remit state sales taxes of $43,393.98 from September 1, 2002 to August 31, 2005.
Acting Monroe County Court Judge Stephen T. Miller on Tuesday sentenced Delgado to report to the Monroe County jail each Sunday beginning October 12, 2008 through August 23, 2009 and perform work assigned by the county.
Delgado pled guilty to one count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a Class E felony, and paid $108,000 to the state Tax Department in taxes, penalty and interest.
The investigation by the Tax Department's Special Investigations Unit was triggered by a civil audit conducted by the Rochester Sales Tax Audit Division. Based on the audit, it was determined that Delgado's sales tax returns reflected significantly less in sales than he was reporting on Department of Motor Vehicle forms which are required to be filed for each car sale.
Commissioner Megna thanked Monroe County District Attorney Michael Green and his staff for their aggressive prosecution of this case. Under New York's Crimes Against Revenue Program (CARP), Monroe County is one of thirteen counties whose District Attorney receives an annual grant from the State's Division of Criminal Justice services to fund the investigation and prosecution of crimes that cause financial injury to New York State. The Delgado prosecution exemplifies the success of the CARP program.
Commissioner Megna added: "In the past year, the Department has significantly increased its commitment to combating tax fraud as part of our effort to close the tax gap. Our newly formed Special Investigations Unit is working across the state with local district attorneys to expose and prosecute those who engage in tax fraud. We are targeting cash businesses that underreport their taxable sales and defraud customers and cheat the State of sales tax revenue."
Careers |
Site Index |
Electronic Services |
Publications and
Bulletins |
Web Survey
Accessibility |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Security
Last Modified: October 01, 2008
