Fails To Pay Sales Tax of $102,000 on $1.2 Million in Sales
IMMEDIATE, Wednesday
October 19, 2011
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced that an Endicott, New York resident who operates a used car dealership was arrested today, charged with filing false tax returns and failing to pay sales tax due the State.
John J. Matisi, 63, of 106 1/2 Badger Street, Endicott, was arraigned in Town of Union Court, Broome County, and charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a felony; five counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a felony; and five counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a felony.
Matisi, released on his own recognizance, is the owner of S & J Matisi Corporation and operator of Matisi Auto Sales, 1606 Union Center Maine Highway, Town of Union.
According to the felony complaint, for the period December 1, 2002 through November 30, 2007, his business earned in excess of $1,255,500 in unreported taxable sales and collected but failed to remit sales tax exceeding $102,000. He prepared and filed false sales tax returns for each taxable period examined with the intent to defraud the State and to conceal the commission of a crime, the complaint said.
The New York State Tax Department reminds taxpayers that if a business has not remitted all of the sales tax it has collected, its owners are urged to enter the State's Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance Program to correct past returns and avoid both civil and criminal penalties. Information on the program is available on the Department's website at www.tax.ny.gov
No new court date has been scheduled. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty