Two CPAS based in Scarsdale, N.Y.—one described by local reports as a hero volunteer fireman—have pleaded guilty to scheming with clients to reduce taxes and hid wages paid to employees. George Sanossian and Jack Sardis, who will be sentenced in September, have also agreed to pay restitution of $652,883.60, to the Internal Revenue Service and New York State.The two are partners in Sanossian, Sardis & Co. The scheme lasted from about 2012 through April 15, 2018, with the two conspiring with clients that included nine businesses in the construction industry.
The CPAs advised clients to participate in a scheme in which they issued checks payable to a shell company. They presented these to Sardis and Sanossian, who cashed them at a check-cashing service, and return the cash, minus their fee, to the clients. One report said Sardis offered to meet a client as his firehouse
Some clients used the cash to pay employees without reporting the amount to the IRS on form 941. Owners and managers also used the cash for personal uses, but did not report the income on their state or federal returns.
More than $2 million was handled this way.
The Daily Voice, an Englewood, N.J..-based publication, described Sardis as “A decorated veteran Bergen County firefighter” with other media calling him a hero. A resident of Englewood Cliff, N.J., Sardis volunteer firefighter since 1995, according to the Facebook page of the Englewood Cliffs Fire Department, which noted, "Jack has been honored several times for exceptional service to the community."
