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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that a state grand jury today returned separate
indictments charging a father and his son
with failing to pay the state thousands
of dollars in sales taxes that they collected
from customers at their used car dealerships
in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Anthony
Foti, 53, of Brick, allegedly failed to
remit to the state more than $75,000 in
sales taxes that he collected from customers
at his used car dealership, An-Jo Car Company
Inc. on Route 9 in Toms River, between 2000
and 2004. Foti sold the business in July
2004. He also allegedly failed to file corporate
business tax returns with the state for
the calendar years ending 2001 through 2004,
and failed to file quarterly sales and use
tax returns for the quarters ending March
31, 2003 through June 30, 2004.
Foti
was on probation at the time of the alleged
crimes. He was convicted in 2000 of third-degree
theft by failure to make required disposition
of property received for failing to remit
New Jersey sales taxes from An-Jo for the
years 1996 through 1999. He was sentenced
to five years probation and paid $100,000
in restitution to the state.
His
son, Anthony Foti Jr., 25, of Toms River,
allegedly failed to remit to the state approximately
$37,211 that he collected from customers
of his used car dealership, Wheels Are Us,
between 2006 and 2008. The business was
initially located in Asbury Park, but was
moved to Route 35 in Middletown. The business
closed in May. Foti Jr. allegedly failed
to file quarterly sales and use tax returns
with the state for the quarters ending March
31, 2006 through March 31, 2008.
Today’s
state grand jury indictments stem from an
investigation by the state Division of Taxation
Office of Criminal Investigation.
The
father was charged with theft by failure
to make required disposition of property
received (2nd degree), misapplication of
government property (2nd degree), purposely
failing to turn over New Jersey sales and
use taxes (2nd degree), failure to file
sales and use tax return (3rd degree), and
failure to file corporate business tax return
(3rd degree).
Foti
Jr. was charged in a separate indictment
with theft by failure to make required disposition
of property received (3rd degree), misapplication
of government property (3rd degree), failure
to remit sales and use taxes (3rd degree),
and failure to file sales and use tax return
(3rd degree).
The
case was investigated by Auditor Kerry Czymek
of the Division of Taxation Office of Criminal
Investigation. It was presented to the state
grand jury by Deputy Attorney General Denise
Grugan of the Division of Criminal Justice
Major Crimes Bureau.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000,
while third-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of five years in prison and a $15,000
fine.
The
indictments are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
The
indictments were handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County.
The defendants will be ordered to appear
in court at a later date to answer the charges.
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