Owner Of New York City Parking Lots Pleads Guilty To Failing To Pay Payroll Taxes To The IRS

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that TREVOR WHITTINGHAM, an owner of parking lots in Manhattan, pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to failing to pay payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). WHITTINGHAM was arrested in January 2013 and pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Sullivan.

According to the Indictment and statements made in open court today at the plea proceeding:

WHITTINGHAM owned and controlled two companies, EZ Going Park Here and We Have Cars II, through which he operated parking lots in Harlem and other parts of upper Manhattan, New York. He was responsible for collecting, accounting for, and paying payroll taxes on behalf of both of these companies. From December 2006 through June 2009, WHITTINGHAM caused EZ Going Park Here and We Have Cars II to deduct and collect payroll taxes from its employees. The majority of those payroll taxes, however, were not paid over to the IRS as required. Instead, WHITTINGHAM used the corporate funds of EZ Going Park Here and We Have Cars II to pay for various personal items and otherwise finance a lavish lifestyle. As a result, from 2005 through 2009, EZ Going Park Here and We Have Cars II accumulated approximately $251,265 in unpaid payroll tax liabilities.

WHITTINGHAM, 63, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pled guilty to one count of willfully failing to pay over payroll taxes to the IRS. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He will be sentenced by Judge Sullivan on November 15, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. WHITTINGHAM also agreed to make restitution to the IRS in the amount of $251,265.

Mr. Bharara praised the IRS, Criminal Investigation for its outstanding work in the investigation. He also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division for their significant assistance in the investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Young is in charge of the prosecution.