A Great Neck business owner has agreed to pay back more than $335,000 in taxes he failed to pay over a three-year span, according to a release from Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice’s office.
Joseph Caraccia, 65 and a resident of Queens, pleaded guilty to the charges of petit larceny and his two companies, Auto Bodyworks of 275 East Shore Road and Auto Body Works II of 300 East Shore Road, both pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny charges, according to the release.
Caraccia and the companies paid half of the taxes owed to the state Department of Taxation and Finance last week and will pay the other half following his sentencing on May 22, according to the release.
“When a company or an individual fails to remit taxes, it’s a crime against all New Yorkers,” Rice said in the release. “By pocketing this money, Mr. Caraccia took funding away from services that any resident of Long Island or beyond could rely upon. I’m glad we were able to restore this money to the people of New York and will continue to aggressively prosecute crimes against the taxpayer.”
The district attorney’s office learned about Caraccia’s tax evasion from a tip to their office, according to the release.
The Nassau Criminal Investigations Division of the state Department of Taxation and Finance investigated the tip and found differences between taxes that were paid by insurance carriers to the automobile repair shops and the amount of taxes the two shops paid the state, according to the release.
Investigators searched Caraccia’s offices and obtained financial information regarding the businesses that led to Caraccia’s arrest on Oct. 24, 2012, according to the release. Investigators determined Caraccia failed to pay $335,000 between the years of 2009 and 2012, according to the release.
Caraccia’s autoshops were charged on Dec. 18, 2013, according to the release.
The sentencing on May 22 will be heard before Judge Susan Kluewer, according to the release.
