Long Island business owners sentenced in $1M tax fraud

Two owners of businesses on Long Island were sentenced last week for stealing more than $1 million in sales tax money from New York State, according to a statement from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

West Islip resident Brian Soltan, owner of several East Islip auto body businesses, had pleaded guilty to grand larceny in Sept. 2019 and Gerald McCrystal of Dix Hills, owner of Farmingdale-based furniture stores, pleadedguilty to grand larceny on June 26, according to the DA’s office.

In his guilty plea, Soltan admitted to failing to report more than $2.81 million in taxable sales between Jan. 2011 and Nov. 2015, from several of his businesses including Long Island Auto Body, Inc., Long Island Auto Collision, Inc., Long Island Towing & Auto Body, Inc., Long Island Towing & Collision, Inc., East Islip’s Auto Collision, Inc., East Islip Collision, Inc., and High End Collision, Inc., resulting in $244,799 in stolen sales taxes, according to the statement.

As a condition of his plea, Soltan, represented by attorney Robert Macedonio,was required to pay $250,000 in restitution prior to his June 26 sentencing.

McCrystal admitted in his guilty plea that between Feb. 2008 to Nov. 2015 he failed to report more than $8.9 million in taxable sales from his Farmingdale-based businesses that included Levetz, Inc., Roma Fli Corporation, and Roma New York, Inc., resulting in $744,865 in stolen sales taxes, according to the DA’s office.

MyCrystal, who was represented by attorney Matthew Rosenblum,was required to pay $745,000 in restitution as a condition of his plea.

“The deliberate theft of tax dollars is a serious offense that undermines the integrity of our tax system and places an unfair burden on law-abiding citizens and businesses. Both defendants collected sales tax from customers, fraudulently underreported taxable sales on dozens of returns, and then failed remit that money to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance,” Suffolk DA Raymond Tierney said in the statement. “These cases serve as clear reminders that tax fraud will not be tolerated, and those who attempt to cheat the system will be held accountable for their actions.”

The cases, presided over by Acting Supreme Court Justice Stephen Braslow,were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sacks of the Financial Crimes Bureau. The investigation intoSoltan’s case was conducted by Senior Detective Investigator George Bean of the Suffolk DA’s office. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance assisted in both cases.

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