New York City contractor was on Sept. 12 was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to one year and one day in prison for his role in a tax evasion scheme. Nick A. Jodha, a/k/a “Nick Persaud,” the owner of a contracting business that provided heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) services throughout the New York City metropolitan area, pled guilty in April 2014 before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who also imposed the Sept. 12 sentence, a press release issued by Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said.
According to the criminal Information against Jodha and statements made at the plea proceeding, he operated and was a 50 percent owner of United HVAC Services, based in South Ozone Park, New York, with operations throughout New York City. From 2007 through 2010, Jodha cashed more than $2.3 million in checks made payable to United HVAC at a check cashing service in Manhattan, rather than depositing the business checks into the business’s corporate bank account, the press release said. Jodha used the proceeds from the cashed checks for business and personal purposes.
During the same period, in order to prepare both personal and corporate income tax returns, Jodha provided his accountant with the statements from the business bank account of United HVAC.
However, he failed to inform his accountant of the checks he cashed at the check cashing service, which were not reflected in the statements of United HVAC’s business bank account. Moreover, he failed to advise his accountant that he used a portion of the cashed checks for business and personal expenses.
In April, Jodha admitted to filing false S-Corporation income tax returns on behalf United HVAC for the tax years 2007 through 2010, which omitted any business activity and flow-through income concerning the cashed business checks, and to filing false individual income tax returns for the tax years 2007 through 2010, which understated his true taxable income and the taxes due on that income.
In addition to the prison term, Jodha was sentenced to two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $214,529 in restitution to the IRS and a $100 special assessment fee, the press release said.
