TRENTON
– Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa
announced that a Bergen County man who operated
a tax preparation service has been indicted
on charges he stole nearly $190,000 in checks
that small business clients wrote to pay sales
taxes or payroll withholding taxes to the
State of New Jersey, State of New York and
U.S. Government. The
Division of Criminal Justice Financial &
Computer Crimes Bureau obtained a 14-count
state grand jury indictment charging Wayne
Dunich Kolb, 47, of Saddle River, his tax
preparation service, Dunich-Kolb, LLC, and
a consulting firm he operates called Jadran
Services Corp. The indictment alleges that
from January 2003 to January 2009, Dunich
Kolb stole 56 checks totaling $129,278 that
clients wrote to pay business sales taxes
to the State of New Jersey; seven checks
totaling $7,151 that clients wrote to pay
payroll withholding taxes to the State of
New York; and 22 checks totaling $53,358
that clients wrote to pay federal payroll
withholding taxes to the Internal Revenue
Service. He allegedly deposited the checks
into bank accounts he maintained.
Dunich
Kolb was arrested this morning at his home
by detectives of the Division of Criminal
Justice. The indictment was returned on
Feb. 29 but sealed until today’s arrest.
Dunich Kolb is being lodged in the Mercer
County Jail with bail set at $200,000.
The
indictment stems from a joint investigation
by the Division of Taxation Office of Criminal
Investigation and the Division of Criminal
Justice Financial & Computer Crimes
Bureau. Dunich Kolb allegedly concealed
his theft of the tax payments by either
failing to file tax returns for the clients
or filing returns falsely indicating the
businesses owed no taxes. He is charged
with one count of second-degree theft by
failure to make required disposition of
property received for the New Jersey checks,
and two counts of third-degree theft by
failure to make required disposition of
property received for the New York and IRS
checks. He is also charged with money laundering
and misconduct by a corporate official,
both in the second degree.
“Time
after time, this defendant allegedly stole
from small business owners who entrusted
their tax payments to him, covering his
tracks by falsifying their tax returns or
not filing their returns at all,”
said Attorney General Chiesa. “We
allege that he diverted the funds to support
his lavish lifestyle, which included a luxury
home, high-end vehicles and extensive travel.”
“When
a person involved in the financial services
industry, such as Dunich Kolb, engages in
the type of fraud alleged in this indictment,
the loss to victims can be extensive,”
said Stephen J. Taylor, Director of the
Division of Criminal Justice. “We
have made it a priority to investigate and
prosecute white collar crime, including
crimes by accountants, lawyers, and mortgage
or investment brokers.”
“The
integrity of tax professionals is a cornerstone
of our system of voluntary tax compliance.
We treat any evidence that a professional
has put his or her interests ahead of those
of his or her clients and the community
with the utmost seriousness,” said
State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff.
“One of the missions of Treasury’s
Office of Criminal Investigation is to pursue
any evidence of misconduct in this arena
aggressively.”
In
addition to the charges related to the alleged
stolen checks, Dunich Kolb is charged with
five counts of failure to file a New Jersey
gross income tax return, a third-degree
offense, for failing to file personal tax
returns with the State of New Jersey for
tax years 2006 through 2010. He is charged
with four counts of third-degree theft by
deception for allegedly filing applications
for the New Jersey Homestead Rebate in which
he fraudulently understated his annual income
in order to qualify to collect a rebate
of $2,000 for each of the years 2006, 2007,
2008 and 2009.
The
case was presented to the state grand jury
by Deputy Attorney General Denise Grugan
of the Division of Criminal Justice Financial
& Computer Crimes Bureau. The investigation
was conducted by Auditors Kevin Curry and
Debra Lewaine of the Division of Taxation’s
Office of Criminal Investigation, and Deputy
Attorney General Grugan.
The
investigation began when the Division of
Taxation conducted a compliance audit of
a small business that hired Dunich Kolb
to prepare its New Jersey tax returns. The
audit revealed that Dunich Kolb allegedly
diverted sales tax payments from the business
that were intended for the State of New
Jersey into a bank account that he maintained
and controlled. Further investigation revealed
additional tax payment checks from various
clients that were allegedly deposited by
Dunich Kolb into multiple bank accounts
that he maintained for Dunich Kolb, LLC.
The Division of Taxation referred the case
to the Division of Criminal Justice.
The
investigation revealed that Dunich Kolb
told clients to send their tax payments
to him, and he represented that he would
forward the payment to the state or federal
government along with the client’s
tax return. After Dunich Kolb allegedly
stole their checks, diverting the funds
into his bank accounts, some clients received
delinquency notices from the government.
They reported that they alerted Dunich Kolb,
who allegedly told them he would take care
of the issue.
In
1996, the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy
obtained a court order requiring Dunich
Kolb to cease and desist from holding himself
out to the public as a certified public
accountant because he did not have a CPA
license. Despite the court order, he continued
to present himself as a certified public
accountant specializing in the area of tax
planning for small businesses.
Second-degree
crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years
in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000,
while third-degree crimes carry a sentence
of three to five years in prison and a fine
of up to $15,000. The second-degree money
laundering charge carries an enhanced fine
of up to $500,000, and an anti-money laundering
profiteering penalty of up to $250,000.
The indictment is merely an accusation and
the defendants are presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Thomas W. Sumners Jr. in Mercer County,
who assigned the case to Bergen County,
where the defendants will be ordered to
appear in court at a later date to answer
the charges. A copy of the indictment is
posted with this release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
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