A Long Island man who owns three different used car dealerships in Jamaica and Woodside allegedly fleeced the state out of more than $330,000 in sales tax revenue over five years, prosecutors announced on Friday.
Mamdoh Eltouby, 65, owns Planet Motor Cars Inc. and Hillside Motors LLC, both of which operate at 161-10 Hillside Ave. in Jamaica, and the now defunct New York Motor Group LLC, which operated at 60-20 Northern Blvd. in Woodside.
He was arraigned on charges that he intentionally under-reported more than $3.8 million in sales at his dealership between 2010 and 2015 in order to reduce his state and city tax obligations, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
The fraud was revealed through an investigation conducted by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Criminal Investigation Division with the help of forensic accountants assigned to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
“When consumers pay sales taxes they expect those funds to go into the public treasury and not to be pocketed by business owners,” Brown said in a statement on Jan. 13. “These types of paper crimes make every New Yorker a victim by cheating the government and the public out of money that is necessary to maintain services and infrastructure.”
Eltouby and his companies are charged with the second- and third-degree grand larceny, first-degree falsifying business records and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. Eltouby was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on April 7; if convicted, he could serve up to 15 years in prison. If the company is convicted, it may be fined up to $10,000 or twice the amount of the illegal gain, whichever is greater.
