| TRENTON
– Attorney General Stuart Rabner and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that six Jersey City residents,
including five members of one family, have
been indicted on charges they conspired
to steal $573,383 from the state by filing
fraudulent applications for 745 Homestead
Rebate checks.
According to Paw, all six
of the defendants were indicted by a state
grand jury on charges of first-degree conspiracy,
first-degree money laundering and second-degree
theft by deception. Paw identified the defendants
as Paul Sarris, 50; Achilles “Butz”
Amante, 55; his sister, Matilda Amante Ramos,
56; and his three sons, Aristides Amante,
27, Amorito “Angelo” A. Amante,
33, and Aloysius M. Amante, 31.
The indictment was returned
on Feb. 5, but was sealed until today pending
execution of arrest warrants. On Tuesday,
state investigators from the Division of
Criminal Justice -Major Financial Crimes
Bureau arrested Matilda Amante Ramos, Aristides
Amante and Angelo Amante in Jersey City.
They were assisted by agents from the U.S.
Social Security Administration and the Jersey
City Police Department. On Wednesday, state
investigators arrested Aloysius M. Amante
in Somerville. The defendants were transported
to Mercer County Jail, where they were being
held in lieu of bail. Sarris and Butz Amante
remain at large.
“The indictment alleges
that these defendants were systematically
stealing funds intended to assist property
taxpayers in New Jersey,” said Attorney
General Rabner. “As our state works
to provide comprehensive property tax relief
for New Jerseyans, we’ll continue
to work with the Division of Taxation to
investigate and prosecute those who try
to defraud these programs.”
Matilda Amante Ramos ran
a travel agency, while all of the other
defendants operated their own financial
service companies offering tax preparation
services. Between August 2001 and September
2003, the six defendants allegedly filed
745 false Homestead Rebate applications
with the State of New Jersey, including
multiple applications for each of 15 residential
and commercial addresses they rented in
Jersey City.
The
defendants allegedly filed the applications
using names and Social Security numbers
obtained from tax preparation clients, without
permission of the clients. The defendants
allegedly laundered the $573,383 in stolen
funds by depositing the rebate checks in
various commercial bank accounts maintained
for their businesses.
“This is the third
time in three months we’ve announced
criminal cases stemming from Division of
Taxation audits in which defendants fraudulently
obtained state tax refunds or homestead
rebates,” said Director Paw. “We’re
sending a loud and clear message that criminals
who attempt to steal from the state and
its taxpayers will be caught.”
“This indictment is
an example of how we vigilantly work to
enforce our tax laws and ensure that property
taxpayers get the relief they need and are
entitled to,” said Acting Taxation
Division Director Maureen Adams. “This
case along with recent tax fraud arrests
and convictions are a visible sign to taxpayers
that we are working hard on their behalf
as they are filling out their returns this
tax season.”
Attorney General Rabner credited the Jersey
City Police Department with initiating the
investigation after receiving a tip that
numerous Homestead Rebate checks addressed
to different names were sent to a Jersey
City address rented by Sarris and Butz Amante.
They referred the case to the New Jersey
Division of Taxation - Office of Criminal
Investigation, which conducted an audit
that identified hundreds of fraudulent rebate
applications linked to the defendants. The
Division of Taxation brought the Division
of Criminal Justice into the investigation.
The case was presented to
the state grand jury by Deputy Attorney
General Denise Grugan of the Division of
Criminal Justice. The investigation was
conducted by Auditors Kevin Curry and Debra
Lewaine of the Division of Taxation - Office
of Criminal Investigation.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. First-degree charges carry a maximum
sentence of 20 years in state prison and
a criminal fine of $200,000, while second-degree
charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in prison and a fine of $150,000.
In
the two other recent cases involving fraudulent
state tax returns, state investigators on
Dec. 19, 2006 arrested Rosa Victoria Rivera,
39, of Lyndhurst, her boyfriend, John Arturo
Perez Silva, 38, and her son, Wilson Armondo
Pinos Rivera, 21, on second-degree theft
charges for allegedly stealing $827,000
in fraudulent tax refunds; and on Jan. 18,
Mack Barden, 58, of Paterson, pleaded guilty
to second-degree theft by deception for
fraudulently obtaining $210,035 in state
tax refund and Homestead Rebate checks.
>> Sarris
and Amante Indictment
(229k pdf) plug-in
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