Owner of 2 Nassau collision shops sentenced for failure to pay sales tax
New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office brought charges against Jose Cardona of Oceanside for sales tax fraud. Credit: AP/Mary Altaffer
The owner of a pair of Nassau County collision repair shops was sentenced Wednesday to six months in jail and five months probation for failing to pay more than $700,000 in sales taxes between 2010 and 2016, according to State Attorney General Letitia James.
Jose Cardona, 45, of Oceanside had previously pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Meryl Berkowitz in State Supreme Court in Mineola to third- and fourth-degree criminal tax fraud and paid more than $700,000 in restitution, prosecutors said.
His two businesses, No Limit Auto Body in Hempstead, and Henry Street Auto Body, Inc. in Freeport, also previously pleaded guilty to charges of fourth-degree tax fraud, while his wife, Veronica Cardona, 44, has pleaded guilty to second-degree offering a false instrument for filing related to a fraudulent personal income tax return. They each received a conditional discharge.
Cardona and his wife were previously charged with failing to file personal income tax returns for 2010 and from 2012 through 2015, underpaying the state by more than $200,000 in taxes, authorities said.
“When individuals and businesses line their pockets with tax money, they steal services and resources from New Yorkers,” James said. “Jose Cardona and his businesses took advantage of taxpayers and tried to cheat our state out of over half a million dollars. "
Chris Devane, Cardona's Mineola-based defense attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A joint investigation by the attorney general’s Auto Insurance Fraud Unit and the Department of Taxation and Finance found that Cardona and No Limit Auto Body collected but failed to pay the state more than $584,000 in sales taxes between June 2010 and May 2016. In addition, Cardona and Henry Street Auto Body collected but failed to pay more than $117,000 in sales tax between June 2011 and November 2015, prosecutors said.
No Limit employee Peter Bifolco was also previously charged with felony insurance fraud for adding additional damage to a car brought to the shop and then billing more than $3,000 in unnecessary repairs, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal mischief and was sentenced to a conditional discharge.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
'No one wants to pay more taxes than they need to' Nearly 20,000 Long Islanders work in town and city government. A Newsday investigation found a growing number of them are making more than $200,000 a year. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.
'No one wants to pay more taxes than they need to' Nearly 20,000 Long Islanders work in town and city government. A Newsday investigation found a growing number of them are making more than $200,000 a year. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.
