Contact: Geoffrey Gloak, 518-457-7377
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Thomas H. Mattox announced today that Daryn J. Sapere pled guilty to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and Criminal Tax Fraud in the Fourth Degree for stealing more than $62,000 in sales tax.
Sapere, 43, of Rochester, NY, the owner and operator of Dario's Famous Pizza located at 1740 and 1560 Route 332 in Farmington, NY, was arraigned in Ontario County Court before the Honorable Judge Craig J. Doran. Sapere pled guilty as charged. He will be sentenced October 29 and faces up to seven years in state prison.
A Tax Department investigation found that Sapere failed to remit at least $62,000 in sales taxes collected from the pizzeria's customers between 2004 and 2011.
Commissioner Mattox stated, "When businesses collect sales tax from their customers then fail to pay it to the State, they steal from their customers and citizens of our State. I thank the Ontario County District Attorney R. Michael Tantillo for his continuing commitment to prosecuting cases such as this."
If a business has not been remitting sales tax, it is in its best interest to come forward before enforcement actions are taken by the Tax Department. The Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance Program encourages delinquent taxpayers to become compliant without facing criminal prosecution or civil penalty. For more information about this program, visit the Department's website: www.tax.ny.gov.