Coin Dealer Formerly From Hackensack Is Indicted On Federal Tax Charges

NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury in Newark today returned a three-count Indictment charging a former Bergen County dealer in ancient coins, with aiding and assisting in the filing of false federal income tax returns, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Gantcho Zagorski, 59, formerly a resident of Hackensack, N.J., was charged with aiding and assisting in the filing of false federal income tax returns for calendar years 2006, 2007 and 2008. A date for Zagorski’s arraignment will be scheduled once the case has been assigned to a federal district judge.

According to the Indictment:

Zagorski owned and operated a business that sold ancient coins to domestic and international customers, primarily on eBay, from his residence in Hackensack. Zagorski, along with his wife and, at times, his daughter, operated the coin-selling business under the names “Diana Coins,” “Paganecoins,” and “Diana Coins, LLC.” For calendar years 2006, 2007, and 2008, Zagorski provided his tax preparer with false and fraudulent information by understating the amount of gross receipts and sales earned by his business. Zagorski then caused to be filed with the IRS those federal income tax returns for 2006, 2007 and 2008 containing that false and fraudulent information.

Each of the three tax counts carries a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations New York, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James T. Hayes Jr.; IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen, Newark Field Office; and the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velasquez, with the investigation leading to the Indictment.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Nakly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division and Leslie Schwartz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.

The charges and allegations contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Defense counsel: John Yauch Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark

Zagorski Indictment