Jersey City Tax Preparer Used $1M From Charity For Gambling And Alimony: Feds

JERSEY CITY, NJ — A Jersey City man admitted diverting more than a million dollars from a charitable foundation to fund personal expenses, federal officials said.

Edward M. Lombard of Jersey City pleaded guilty on March 4 to one count of an indictment charging him with tax evasion before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, said the IRS.

“Using his position of trust as an accountant and tax preparer, Mr. Lombard swindled a charitable foundation out of more than a million dollars,” said IRS Special Agent in Charge Jenifer Piovesan in a release on Thursday.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Lombard owned a tax preparation and accounting business in New Jersey. From 2014 through 2017, he also headed and served as a tax preparer for a local foundation.

During that time, he diverted money from the foundation’s bank accounts directly to himself and to his companies, the IRS said.

He used the money for personal expenses including alimony, "significant gambling activity," financing a business venture, and paying his mortgage, insurance, and credit card bills, prosecutors said.

Lombard failed to report the diverted money on his own tax returns, under-representing his income by approximately $1,266,800, officials said.

The tax evasion charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 5, officials said.

An IRS spokesperson said the name of the foundation has not been made public, and declined to identify it.