North Hempstead Attorney Arrested for Tax Evasion

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Summary: A North Hempstead attorney and former Democratic Party leader for the city has been avoiding paying his taxes for sixteen years.

The former Democratic Party leader in North Hempstead was arrested for tax evasion. Federal agents arrested Gerard Terry and indicted him on charges of federal tax evasion as well as obstruction of the Internal Revenue Service.

  

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Once an influential party member, the 62-year-old man of Roslyn Heights either resigned or was fired from several public positions last year when news of his financial problems reached the public. Newsday reported that he had gathered roughly $1.4 million in federal and state tax debt. When he was arrested at his home Tuesday morning, $30,000 in cash was also seized.

The two-count indictment against Terry claims that he had developed a complex scheme to avoid paying federal taxes since 2000, adding up to $1.4 million. Terry was earning over $250,000 a year. In April and August, Terry had also been charged with a total of eight-counts of tax fraud for state income taxes.

Terry pleaded not guilty to the charges. One of his attorneys, Stephen Scaring, said, “These charges track the state charges, and we will answer them in court.”

Terry faces prison time for the federal and state tax charges but as Assistant U.S. Attorney Artie McConnell explained, he is also “being investigated for his role in kickback, bid rigging and other procurement fraud schemes in Nassau County.” McConnell was asking for Terry to be held without bail.

U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert declined McConnell’s request and released Terry on bond with an additional $600,000 backing in property owned by his brother-in-law. Seybert set conditions confining Terry to his home to be monitored with an electronic bracelet.

Eastern District U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said, Terry “knowingly and willfully refused to pay his federal income taxes. That he did so while earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from government and civic positions only makes his conduct more offensive.” Capers continued by explaining that when the IRS attempted to collect his taxes, that he filed tax forms “that contained false information and failed to report income…to obstruct internal revenue laws.”

Capers claims that the way Terry avoided paying taxes or having his money seized by the IRS was by cashing checks instead of depositing them, setting up a checking account under a fictitious name to hide his income, having paychecks deposited straight to his credit cards, and more.

Terry claims his tax issues are because of health issues including open heart surgery and promised to settle with the IRS for his back taxes.

Do you think Terry knew fully what he was doing since he was cashing checks and even created a fake checking account? Tell us in the comments below.

To learn more about others with tax evasion problems, read these articles:

• Paul Daugerdas Sentenced in Largest Tax Fraud Case in History
• Stephen Baldwin Charged with $350,000 Tax Evasion
• Former Arnold Porter Partner Gets Probation For Tax Scheme

Photo: flickr.com