New Jersey Electronics Businessman Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Return

A New Jersey man pleaded guilty yesterday to filing a false personal tax return, stemming from inaccurate information he deliberately provided to his company’s accountants.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Tiangang Zhuang, 49, formerly of Philadelphia, controlled and operated Pilestone Inc. and Golden Mermaid, Inc., both of which were involved in the development and sale of colorblind glasses, electronics, and cosmetics. From approximately 2017 to 2019, Zhuang supplied his accountants with false financial records that intentionally understated the gross receipts earned by Pilestone and Golden Mermaid. As a result, the accountants prepared corporate tax returns for both companies that underreported their income for each of these years. Because the business income earned by the two companies flowed through to Zhuang’s personal tax returns, by providing false information to the accountants he minimized the income and tax liability reported on his personal tax returns. For example, on his 2018 individual return Zhuang reported earning approximately $163,769 in taxable income, even though he knew he actually received more than $660,000 that year. In total, Zhuang caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $219,663.

Zhuang is scheduled to be sentenced on March 14, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for filing a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Jorge Almonte and Trial Attorney Catriona M. Coppler of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.