Queens Contractor Arrested For Evading $650K In Taxes: Feds

GLENDALE, QUEENS -- A Queens contractor is accused of evading roughly $650,000 in taxes by lying to the government about how much he was paying his employees, federal prosecutors said.

An indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday charged Rafal Ziolkowski, 41, with failing to collect and pay taxes, conspiring to defraud the government and lying to federal agents after he allegedly understated how much his Glendale-based company, Oliwa Construction, paid workers for nearly four years.

"As alleged in the indictment, Ziolkowski defrauded the United States by not reporting cash wages paid to his company's employees," said U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue.

Ziolkowski, who was arrested Tuesday morning, bilked the U.S. government out of approximately $650,000 in Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes between January 2010 and December 2013, prosecutors said.

"Both retired citizens and some dependent children depend on this assistance, which plays a critical role in the financial security of all Americans," said James Robnett, special agent-in-charge of the IRS criminal investigation.

Ziolkowski is accused of lying on federal tax forms about how much his employees were earning and covered his tracks by cashing commercial checks to pay them, according to the indictment.

When IRS agents confronted Ziolkowski about the alleged scheme, he claimed to have never visited a check cashing establishment, the indictment states.

Ziolkowski faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted of the tax evasion scheme.

Lead photo via Shutterstock