Date: July 29, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov A New York man pleaded guilty yesterday to tax evasion. According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2009 to 2014 David Seruya was an original owner and shareholder of a New Jersey-based home warranty business. In 2014, Seruya entered into a buyout agreement whereby he agreed to sell his shares of stock back to the business and exit the company. In exchange for his stock shares, the home warranty company agreed to pay Seruya a total of more than $4.1 million, which included a lump sum payment and installment payments spread out over 24 months. Seruya underreported to his return preparer the actual amount of income he received from the sale of his stock. In addition, Seruya did not inform his return preparer about income received from canceled mortgage debt. As a result, Seruya caused his return preparer to prepare and file false income tax returns for the tax years 2014 through 2016. As part of his plea, Seruya also admitted to evading taxes for the years 2010-2013. In total, Seruya's tax evasion caused a loss to the IRS of more than $1.1 million. Seruya is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each of three count of tax evasion. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey made the announcement. IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Trial Attorney Shawn Noud of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Silane for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.
