An eagle-eyed, faithful Forum reader this week called to alert us to a mistake we made with a picture in a story (“Liquor Store Owner Charged with Tax Fraud,” April 9, 2015) in last Thursday’s edition. This is the image that should have been attached to the article. The Forum regrets the error, and thanks our readers for their diligence. Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza.
The chairman and chief executive officer of a Richmond Hill liquor store last week was charged with stealing more than $500,000 in state sales taxes collected at the establishment between 2007 and 2010, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Gurcharan Singh, 33, of Glen Oaks, who owns and operates Raj American Liquor, Inc., on Atlantic Avenue, was released on his own recognizance last Thursday night after he was arraigned on charges of second-degree criminal tax fraud, second-degree grand larceny, first-degree falsifying business records and sales and compensating use taxes/fraud returns.
“Cheating on sales tax is a serious crime,” said Kenneth Adams, acting state Department of Taxation and Finance commissioner. “We want honest businesses to know that we will work diligently with District Attorney Brown and all law enforcement agencies to prosecute any business that fails to take its sales tax responsibilities seriously.”
According to the criminal complaint filed by authorities, Singh and Raj American Liquor, Inc., under reported more than $10 million in sales on tax returns filed between March 1, 2007 and May 31, 2010. The liquor store collected $11,327,548 in revenue, but only reported sales of $387,724. As a result, Singh allegedly failed to pay $501,730 in sales taxes that should have gone to the state.
If convicted, Singh faces up to 15 years in prison and, in the case of a corporation, conviction of a felony is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or double the amount of the illegal gain. Singh’s next court date is May 5.
As of Tuesday, the nondescript Atlantic Avenue storefront from which Raj American Liquor, Inc. was run was closed, its gates rolled all the way down and locked. There were no signs or notes on the gates.
Brown called Singh’s alleged actions, “the type of crime that makes every New Yorker a victim because the government and the public are cheated out of money to fund programs, services and infrastructure.”
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
