Crime & Safety
District Attorney: Katonah Consignment Business Owner Arrested on Tax Fraud Charges
The defendant is accused of failure to file Personal Income Tax returns for three consecutive years with New York State.
Sixty-six-year-old Katonah resident Barry Shevit, owner of a local consignment business, was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of failing to pay nearly $30,000 in state taxes, according to Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Kenneth Adams.
Shevit is accused of failure to file Personal Income Tax returns for three consecutive years with New York State. According to DiFiore and Adams, the tax fraud came to light during an investigation by the Westchester County District Attorneys office into the defendant’s consignment business.
“This time of year no one looks forward to paying their income taxes, but as citizens we do. By this defendant allegedly choosing not to file his, it only serves to increase the burden for the rest of us,” said DiFiore in a prepared statement.
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Added Adams, “With the April 15th filing deadline fast approaching, this case acts as a reminder: if you choose to ignore your responsibilities when it comes to paying income taxes, you will be held accountable.”
Shevit was charged with the following:
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- one count of Criminal Tax Fraud Third Degree, a class “D” Felony,
- one count of Criminal Tax Fraud in the Fourth Degree, a class “E” Felony,
- one count of Repeated Failure to File Personal Returns, a class “E” Felony.
In 2011 the tax liability of $10,153, in 2012, there was a tax liability of $3,112 and a tax liability of $6,281 in 2013.
The total amount of the unpaid tax liability, including prior tax years is approximately $28,862.
Shevit was released on his own recognizance, and the case was adjourned to June 22.
If convicted, Shevit faces a maximum sentence of seven years in state prison.
Assistant District Attorney Nicole Gamble of the Economic Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case.
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