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NYPD Officer Allegedly Moonlighted as Crooked Taxman
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Apr 19, 2013
Modified Apr 19, 2013
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Christopher Parypa / Shutterstock.com
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Apr 19, 2013
Modified Apr 19, 2013
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10-year NYPD veteran Jonathan Wally tried to pull a fast one (read: stupid one) on the IRS, moonlighting as a tax preparer and helping customers claim fake dependents while skimming money off of their return, prosecutors allege.
In a criminal complaint filed by Special Agent Robert Beranger of the IRS (basically Dale Cooper), Wally is accused of defrauding the IRS by using the Social Security numbers of Puerto Rican residents for the purposes of claiming them as dependents for his clients and himself. He was arrested Thursday.
Wally had been an officer at the 34th Precinct up in Washington Heights since 2003, and in 2008 started his entrepreneurial activities as a tax preparer. He never sought the required authorization from the NYPD for off-duty employment (one he probably would not have been granted), and has now been suspended from the department pending the results of the investigation.
Wally allegedly bilked the IRS out of at least $95,000 in tax returns for his clients, while operating under the name "J & A Tax Services." The complaint also details how both NYPD officers and IRS agents working undercover caught Wally running his tax fraud scheme, including seeing a list of the social security numbers of 52 Puerto Rican children just laying out in the open on Wally's desk. Prosecutors say Wally "helped" the undercover agents with their refunds, giving them fake dependents and helping them list friends and family members as disabled.
The kicker of the complaint is pretty great: the IRS alleges that Wally failed to pay at least $19,487 worth of income tax that he made from his earnings as a crooked tax preparer.
Here's the complaint. I feel like the IRS agent is having a little fun with this.
Tagged
crooked cops
irs
nypd
taxes
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Max Rivlin-Nadler has been a contributor to Gothamist since 2013. He has also reported for the New York Times, NPR, and The Intercept. His years-long investigation into New York City's arcane civil forfeiture laws led to a series of reforms which altered a practice that had been taking millions from poor communities for decades. Recently, he brought back a surfing habit from a few years on the west coast, and would love to see you all out in the Rockaways.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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