Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a used car dealer from Toms River was sentenced to state prison today for collecting $156,564 in state sales tax from customers that he purposely failed to turn over to the State of New Jersey.
Gennaro Dicecilia, 58, of Toms River, was sentenced to three years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Timothy P. Lydon in Mercer County. He pleaded guilty on July 14 to a second-degree charge of failure to turn over collected New Jersey sales tax. He must pay restitution to the New Jersey Division of Taxation of $220,797, representing the sales tax he failed to remit, plus penalty and interest.
Deputy Attorney General Peter Gallagher prosecuted Dicecilia for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. Deputy Attorney General William Conlow represented the state at the sentencing. Dicecilia was charged in a Nov. 14, 2013 indictment stemming from an investigation by the Division of Taxation Office of Criminal Investigations and the Division of Criminal Justice.
In pleading guilty, Dicecilia the owner of Automotion LLC on Route 9 in Toms River, admitted that he collected $156,564 in sales tax from car buyers that he purposely failed to turn over to the State of New Jersey. In November 2011, the Division of Taxation was conducting a routine canvas of used car dealerships in Ocean County to identify dealerships that were not properly registered or licensed. During the canvas, it was determined that Dicecilia had failed to file any sales tax returns or remit any sales tax for Automotion since the dealership opened in 2007. The Division of Taxation demanded payment of the dealership’s outstanding sales tax, and Dicecilia subsequently filed sales tax returns.
However, an audit by the Division of Taxation revealed that he deliberately hid information about the number of cars sold and the sales tax that he collected. Further investigation based on vehicle title transfer records kept by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission determined that Dicecilia had collected $205,157 in sales tax, while he remitted only $48,593 during the civil audit.