CORTLANDVILLE, N.Y. — A Cortlandville car-dealership owner has admitted he collected $175,000 in sales-tax money over a five-year period but didn’t submit themoney to New York state.
Joseph Fezza, 47, pleaded guilty to five felony charges that included not filing sales tax and personal income-tax returns.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the guilty plea in a news release his office distributed on Thursday.
The case stems from an investigation that the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the attorney general’s criminal enforcement and financial crimes bureau launched in 2011.
Fezza is the owner and sole proprietor of JF Auto World, also known as Auto World, at 991 Tompkins St. in Cortlandville, according to Schneiderman’s office.
He had collected the sales tax on vehicles sold between March 1, 2004 and Sept. 20, 2009 but didn’t send the money to the state.
Fezza also “failed” to file quarterly sales tax returns, as well as “several” years’ worth of personal income tax returns during this period, according to Schneiderman’s office.
He pleaded guilty to charges that included one count of grand larceny in the second degree; two counts of criminal tax fraud in the third degree; and two counts of repeated failure to file personal income-tax returns, the office added.
“With Tax Day around the corner, today’s conviction shows that my office has no tolerance for business owners who cheat on their taxes,” Schneiderman said in the news release. “When an unscrupulous few fail to pay their taxes, other hardworking New Yorkers have to shoulder the burden. If you rip off honest taxpayers, you will face time in prison.”
In exchange for his plea, Cortland County Court Judge Julie Campbell promised Fezza a sentence of up to one year in jail when he’s sentenced on Oct. 1.
Fezza is required to pay $50,000 in restitution on or before the date of his sentence.
The balance of the restitution will either be agreed upon by the parties by June 15 or the court will hold a restitution hearing on the matter, according to Schneiderman’s office.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com