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Underreported Proceeds from his Buyout Agreement
Underreported income from his buyout deal Read also : 4 Types of business transformation.
A man from New York pleaded guilty yesterday to tax evasion.
According to court documents and statements filed in court, from 2009 to 2014 David Seruya was an original owner and shareholder of a New Jersey-based home insurance company. In 2014, Seruya entered into a buyout agreement whereby he agreed to sell his shares back to the company and exit the company. In exchange for his stock, the home warranty company agreed to pay Seruya a total of more than $4.1 million, which included a lump sum and installments spread over 24 months. Seruya underreported to his return preparer the actual amount of income he received from the sale of his stock. In addition, Seruya did not inform his return preparer of income received from canceled mortgage debt. As a result, Seruya had his return preparer prepare and file false tax returns for tax years 2014 through 2016. As part of his plea, Seruya also admitted to evading taxes for the years 2010-2013. In total, Seruya’s tax evasion caused a loss to the IRS of more than $1.1 million.
Seruya is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14 and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of three counts of tax evasion. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and fines. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the matter.
Trial Attorney Shawn Noud of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Silane of the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.
