$10M In Unpaid Payroll Taxes Draws Prison For Ocean Co. Businessman

TRENTON, NJ — An Ocean County businessman has been sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison for failing to pay more than $10 million in payroll taxes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Josef Neuman, 37, of Lakewood, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp to a charge of willful failure to pay over payroll taxes for one of his businesses in 2018, authorities said.

Shipp additionally sentenced Neuman to two years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $11.2 million.

Neuman was chief executive officer of a business in Lakewood that provided administrative services to operators of nursing homes and other health care facilities, including at least about 20 entities he co-owned and operated, authorities said.

As a person who controlled the companies’ financial affairs, Neuman had the responsibility to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over to the IRS the companies’ payroll taxes, authorities said. During tax years 2017 and 2018, Neuman failed to pay over to the IRS over $10 million in payroll taxes owed by the companies.

Neuman knew that payroll taxes were due and owing to the IRS at this time, but continued to pay other business expenses and employee salaries, instead of the unpaid taxes, while tax liabilities continued to accrue.