Local flower business owners plead guilty to tax obstruction

Janelle Clausen

The co-owners of Metro Floral Decorators, a Great Neck-based flower business, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to endeavoring to obstruct and impede internal revenue laws, acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart Goldberg announced.

The Justice Department said Adrian Benitez, 39, and Jose Ramirez, 44, diverted more than $1 million in sales to their personal accounts rather than their business bank account.

Additionally, the Department said they “did not report the full gross receipts on the firm’s corporate tax returns.” Benitez admitted to causing a tax loss of approximately $227,729, while Ramirez admitted $235,805.

Together, the result was over $450,000 in tax revenue lost.

The Department of Justice said that they instructed customers to pay in cash, checks payable to cash or checks payable to them. They then concealed said funds from their tax return prepared and filed false individual tax returns, which did not report the money they diverted, the department said.

No sentencing date has been scheduled yet. Both Benitez and Ramirez face a statutory sentence of up to three years in prison, a period of supervised released, and restitution and monetary penalties.

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