Date: June 5, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Thomas M. Fattorusso, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced that George Sanossian and Jack N. Sardis pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the IRS, on May 29 and June 5, 2024, respectively, in White Plains federal court. Sanossian’s sentencing before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2024. Sardis’s sentencing before U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román is scheduled for Sept. 26, 2024. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As they admitted in court, the defendants, both certified public accountants, conspired to fraudulently reduce the tax liability of clients of their accounting firm. This case serves as a reminder to all Americans that they are required to truthfully report their earnings and that criminal penalties could await those who fraudulently deceive the IRS, as George Sanossian and Jack Sardis have learned. My Office will continue to hold to account those who scheme to impede the lawful functions of the IRS.” IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Fattorusso said: “Schemes to conceal and reduce federal income and payroll tax liability, such as those utilized by Sardis and Sanossian, are unfair to every taxpayer who obeys the law and pays their fair share. The prosecution of individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes is a key step in the IRS’s enforcement strategy. These guilty pleas place the defendants a step closer to realizing the consequences of their actions.” According to the Informations, to which Sardis and Sanossian pled guilty, and statements made court: Sardis and Sanossian were certified public accountants and partners in an accounting firm in Scarsdale, New York, that provided accounting and income and payroll tax services to clients, including nine businesses in the construction industry (the “Clients”). From in or about 2012 through at least on or about April 15, 2018, Sardis and Sanossian agreed with Clients to scheme to: (i) fraudulently reduce the income tax liability of the Clients; (ii) conceal wages paid to employees by the Clients and, thereby, fraudulently reduce the Clients’ payroll tax liability; and (iii) conceal personal income of the Clients. The defendants advised the Clients to participate in a scheme to reduce their federal income and payroll tax liability, pursuant to which the Clients issued checks made payable to a shell company and gave the checks to Sardis and Sanossian, who then caused the checks to be cashed at a check cashing service and returned the cash, minus a fee, to the Clients. Some Clients used the cash to pay employees without reporting the cash wages on their IRS Forms 941, thereby evading both their employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare and their obligation to withhold income tax on those wages, which permitted the employees to evade federal and state income tax. The owners and managers of some Clients took the cash for personal use without reporting the income on their personal federal and state tax returns. Sardis and Sanossian caused checks to be cashed in this manner for Clients in a total amount exceeding $2 million. Sardis, of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and Sanossian, of Scarsdale, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Sardis and Sanossian have agreed to pay restitution to the IRS and New York State, representing the additional tax due and owing as a result of their conduct, in the total amount of $652,883.60. The maximum potential sentence in these cases is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the IRS-CI in this case. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey C. Coffman and James McMahon are in charge of the prosecution.
