THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2005

DA BROWN: QUEENS USED CAR DEALER CHARGED WITH $1.2 MILLION SALES TAX THEFT
Faces Up To 25 Years In Prison

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Andrew S. Eristoff, today announced that a Floral Park man has been charged with a $1.2 million state sales tax theft in connection with his operation of a Jamaica, Queens, used car dealership. The dealership allegedly annually sold between 169 and 337 used motor vehicles that ranged in prices from $500 to $30,000 per vehicle.

District Attorney Brown said, “When consumers pay sales taxes they expect those funds to go into the public treasury – not into the business owner’s pockets. In this case, for every $9 in sales tax the defendant was collecting on behalf of the State he was allegedly pocketing eight. By purposefully defrauding New York government of such a significant sum of revenue, money that could have been used for any number of valuable public purposes, the defendant is alleged to have made every New Yorker a victim. Such criminal activity that cheats the government and public will not be tolerated and will be vigorously prosecuted.”

Commissioner Eristoff said, “Tax fraud is a serious crime that hurts all residents of the Empire State. Vital programs such as education, health care, infrastructure maintenance and public safety are funded through tax dollars paid by honest and law-abiding citizens. Tax cheats thwart the efforts of those New Yorkers who live up to their tax obligations. Our Department is pledged to work tirelessly with prosecutors such as District Attorney Brown to ensure that those who short-change their neighbors pay a very stiff penalty."

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Mohammad Ishaque (also known as Muhammad Ishaque Dawood and Jeffrey Dawood), 47, of 79-06 257th Street in Floral Park, New York. He is the former president of Junction Autoland Corporation and the owner of New York Autoland Corporation, located, respectively, at 181-28 and 181-30 Hillside Avenue in Queens. He has been charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree and violation of New York Tax Law 1817 (B) Sales and Compensating Use Taxes/Fraud Returns, Statements or Other Documents. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

According to the Criminal Court complaint filed in the case, between September 1, 1999 and February 28, 2005, the defendant, as a high managerial agent of both Junction and New York Autoland, allegedly stole more than $1.2 million in sales tax that he collected from buyers but did not forward to the State Department of Taxation and Finance.

In conducting an audit of Junction Autoland in 2001, the State Tax Department concluded that the defendant had collected $783,197 in sales tax but only reported $24,473 of it to the State. Aware that investigators were reviewing his business dealings, Ishaque is alleged to have shut down his business and reopened a new business at the same location under the name New York Autoland and to have continued to underreport sales tax to the state. It is estimated that between December 2001 and February 2005, Ishaque collected $649,188 in sales tax but only paid $155,072 to the state.

According to the District Attorney, the defendant surrendered today to detectives of the Queens District Attorney’s Office and is being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court.

The investigation was conducted by Investigators William Vick and Paul Polito and Criminal Tax Auditor Stephen Kane, of the Revenue Crime Bureau of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, under the supervision of Bureau Director Nicholas Reynolds, under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Peter Farrell and the overall supervision of Commissioner Andrew S. Eristoff. Assisting in the investigation were Detectives Richard Lewis and Edward Russell of the Queens District Attorney’s Detective Bureau under the supervision of Lieutenant Robert J. Burke and the overall supervision of Lawrence J. Festa, Chief, and Albert D. Velardi, Deputy Chief.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph G. D’Arrigo of the District Attorney's Economic Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gregory C. Pavlides, Chief, and Diane M. Peress, Deputy Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.