A Great Neck man pleaded guilty last week to engaging in an illegal kickback scheme in Florida.
Paul Raifaizen, a former owner of Data Industries Inc. – a computer consulting firm in Manhattan – pleaded guilty Feb. 18 to filing a false tax return connected to the scheme he participated in with a Miami-Dad County employee, Jesus Pons, according to court documents.
Between 1998 and about 2012, Data Industries was employed by Miami-Dad County for technology services, but was replaced in early 2011 by Paradyne Consulting Services Inc. – a company formed by Raifaizen in 2010, according to court documents.
Pons, who was in charge of allocating resources to information technology projects for the county, approved payments by the county to Data Industries and Paradyne for work they did.
Raifaizen made a series of illegal payments to Pons in exchange for Pons’ approval of payments from Miami-Dade County to Data Industrues and Paradyne.
Raifaizen and Pons shared the proceeds from the kickback scheme, court records show.
Court records say that Raifaizen only stated on his tax return that his income for 2011 was about $189,000. Court records say he knew he had much more taxable income than was stated.
Raifaizen could face up to three years in jail and a fine of $250,000. He will be sentenced at 3 p.m. May 1 in Miami.
Pons was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty in late 2014, according to court documents.
