NEWARK, N.J. – A co-owner of multiple businesses today admitted to his role failing to pay over $1 million in payroll taxes for his companies, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Omar Mostafa, 57, of New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner to an information charging him with willful failure to collect or pay taxes.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2016 through 2018, Mostafa co-owned three companies that operated in New Jersey and New York and was responsible for signing and causing to be filed the companies’ tax returns with the IRS. During those tax years, Mostafa substantially underreported each company’s payroll, causing a total tax loss to the IRS of approximately $1.4 million.
The count of failing to collect, account for, and pay employment taxes is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Tammy L. Tomlins, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.