A New York resident has been sentenced to three years in prison following his involvement in a substantial tax fraud scheme associated with nursing homes he operated nationwide. U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced the sentencing of Joseph Schwartz in Newark, New Jersey.
Schwartz, 65, who resided in Suffern, New York, had previously entered a guilty plea to charges of willfully failing to pay employment taxes that were withheld from his company's employees and failing to file a required financial report with the Department of Labor. The sentence was given by U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton.
Court documents describe Schwartz as an insurance broker and operator of Skyline Management Group LLC, headquartered in New Jersey. He was found guilty of neglecting to remit employment taxes associated with healthcare and rehabilitation facilities operated by Skyline in 11 states. According to the indictment, from October 2017 to May 2018, Schwartz withheld taxes from employees' wages but did not pass more than $38 million to the IRS. Additionally, for the 401K plan he administered, Schwartz failed to file a necessary annual financial report for 2018 with the Secretary of Labor.
U.S. Attorney Habba acknowledged the investigative efforts of various agencies, including special agents from IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Department of Labor-Employee Benefits Security Administration, the FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General.
The prosecution team included Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel H. Rosenblum and Kendall R. Randolph from Newark, and Trial Attorney Shawn Noud from the Justice Department's Tax Division.