The owner of L.T. Motors Auto Sales Inc., a used car dealership in Long Island City, has been charged with criminal tax fraud and grand larceny for allegedly making away with $195,680 in taxes over six years, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced on Monday.
Maxim Fuzailov, 59, of 67th Avenue in Forest Hills — the owner of the dealership located at 43-42 37th Ave. — reportedly lied in his tax returns and claimed to have made significantly less in profit. Between Sept. 1, 2008, and Nov. 30, 2014, Fuzailov claimed to have income totaling $3,483,314 with $306,943 in taxes collected and paid. Investigators found that the business actually made $5,740,445 with a tax liability of $502,623.
“Sales taxes are meant for the public treasury – not the pockets of business owners,” Brown said. “The merchant is accused of purposefully defrauding the state and local government out of these funds – funds that should have in this case been used in the public interest. This kind of tax fraud makes every New Yorker a victim.”
Fuzailov and his company are being charged with second- and third-degree grand larceny, third- and fourth-degree criminal tax fraud, first-degree falsifying business records and first- and second-degree scheme to defraud.
He was arraigned on Nov. 4 and released on his own recognizance. Fuzailov was ordered back to court on Nov. 25 and, if convicted, faces up to 15 years in prison. If the corporation is convicted of a felony, it is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or double the amount of illegal gain.
