Owner Of New Jersey Debit Card Business Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison For Filing False Tax Returns

NEWARK, N.J. – An Orange County, N.Y., man who owned a New Jersey company was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for filing false income tax returns, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Richard Jackowitz, 61, of Warwick, N.Y., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with two counts of filing false tax returns.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Jackowitz owned and operated Branded Marketing, a Haskell, N.J., company that sold debit cards. For the 2007 and 2008 tax years, Jackowitz had unreported income from his company of $105,512 and $359, 677, respectively. Jackowitz’s false tax returns caused a loss to the IRS of more than $300,000.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Jackowitz to one year of supervised release and fined him $4,000. As part of his plea agreement, Jackowitz also agreed to pay $319,940 in restitution to the government.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph B. Shumofsky and Jenny Kramer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: John D. Williams Esq., Vernon, N.J.