TRENTON — William Hayden, 58, the Republican chairman of Sussex County, has been indicted on a third-degree charge of filing a fraudulent tax return, marking the second high-profile case involving a New Jersey GOP county leader accused of tax crimes in recent years.
The indictment, announced Tuesday by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Criminal Justice, alleges that Hayden falsely claimed a veterans’ exemption on a 2019 New Jersey Gross Income Tax Return prepared and filed on July 14, 2020. According to court filings, Hayden marked the return as if he were a veteran, securing a $6,000 exemption and reducing the couple’s tax liability by $382. Officials confirmed Hayden is not a veteran.
“Our tax system relies on everyone filing a true and accurate tax return,” said Platkin. “Fraudulently claiming an exemption reserved for military veterans is something we will not tolerate.”
The charge carries a possible prison sentence of three to five years and a fine of up to $15,000. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Christopher Scerbo.
Hayden’s case comes just years after Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore was convicted in federal court for tax evasion involving his law firm, Gilmore & Monahan. Gilmore was sentenced to prison but received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump in January 2021.
The charge against Hayden is currently pending trial. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
William Hayden becomes the second New Jersey GOP county chairman in recent years to face criminal charges tied to tax fraud.