Rockland Business Owner Guilty Of Tax Evasion
Posted on Thursday, 4 of February , 2010 at 8:55 pm
ROCKLAND COUNTY— Charles Wurf, part-owner of D.E.C. Copiers, Inc., located at 6 North Route 9W, West Haverstraw was recently charged, along with the company, with filing fraudulent New York State sales tax returns and stealing over $286,000 in state sales tax for a five year period.
Wurf, 53, who resides at 63 Branchville Rd., Valley Cottage, and D.E.C. Copiers, Inc. both pled guilty on January 25 before Rockland County Supreme Court Judge William Nelson. Wurf pleaded to one count of third degree grand larceny, a class D felony, and D.E.C Copiers, Inc. pled to one count of second degree grand larceny, a class C felony.
Wurf, one of four owners of D.E.C. Copiers, Inc., admitted he filed false New York State sales tax returns in order to steal $286,000 between March 1, 2003 and May 31, 2008.
Both defendants are scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Nelson on March 23.
An investigation into Wurf’s business began in 2008, when an accountant hired by Wurf and D.E.C. Copiers, Inc., was charged with preparing false personal income tax returns for a Department of Taxation and Finance undercover officer who was posing as a small business owner.
As part of the accountant’s plea agreement, which included pleading to a misdemeanor, paying a $50,000 fine, and surrendering his license to practice as a certified public accountant, the accountant agreed to cooperate with the department on investigations into his clients. His cooperation included recording conversations with Wurf about filing false New York State sales tax returns for D.E.C. Copiers, Inc.
The recordings revealed that Wurf allegedly instructed the accountant to prepare one return showing he had collected $5,000 less in sales tax than he had actually collected. The accountant then suggested amending a prior sales tax return which had understated sales tax collected by D.E.C. Copiers, Inc. Wurf refused to amend the prior false sales tax return because amending that return would mean amending all of the sales tax returns. 2-4-10
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