A man from the County of Passaic who spent almost a decade escaping the federal payroll taxes to finance a sumptuous lifestyle – including sports cars, luxury products and exotic holidays – was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday, federal prosecutors said.
Walter Hass63 years old, from Hewitt, previously pleaded guilty to a charge of not collecting, reporting and paying taxes on pay, according to the American prosecutor’s office for the New Jersey district.
US district judge Evelyn Padin brought the 48 -month sentence before the Newark Federal Court and ordered Hass to pay $ 3.5 million on return.
“Walter Hass spent a decade not paying payroll taxes,” American lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement.
“Instead of paying taxes rightly due to our country, he chose to keep the money for him to finance his extravagant lifestyle. We will not tolerate a blatant disrespect for the law,” said Habba.
Hass lawyers were not immediately available to comment on the case.
Hass owned and operated a navigation and logistics company in Oakland, in the county of Bergen, under three different names between 2014 and 2022, prosecutors said.
During this period, he failed to put more than $ 3.5 million in taxes on the IRS, by rather using funds for personal purchases, notably Aston Martins, McLarens, creative watches, high -end clothes, domestic renovations and luxury holidays.
The special agent of the IRS in charge, Jenifer L. Piovesan, said that Hass “transformed his employees into victims” by abusing funds for federal programs.
Beyond financial fraud, Hass also admitted to having simulated a cancer diagnosis to delay legal proceedings, prosecutors said. He submitted three falsified letters of doctors claiming that he had medical conditions, including kidney cancer, which prevented him from attending a court.
Investigators later determined that he had no such illness and tried to travel in depth during the delay.
It was only after the authorities discovered the cunning that Hass recognized her deception, officials said. In addition to prison and restitution, he will serve three years of supervised release.
Anthony G. ATTRINO can be reached tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tonyattrino. Find Nj.com on facebook.