Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Defrauded Around $1M From IRS: Feds

The former tax preparer for television personality Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino and his brother, Marc Sorrentino, today admitted filing fraudulent tax returns on their behalf, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.

Gregg Mark, 51, of Spotswood, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Mark, formerly an accountant at a Staten Island-based accounting firm, admitted preparing fraudulent tax returns for the Sorrentinos for tax years 2010 and 2011, during which time the Sorrentinos and their businesses – MPS Enterprises LLC and Situation Nation Inc. – received millions of dollars in income.

To reduce the taxes the Sorrentinos owed, Mark caused to be prepared and filed with the IRS fraudulent business and personal tax returns. Mark admitted the Sorrentinos’ false returns defrauded the IRS out of $550,000 to $1.5 million, according to a news release from Fishman’s office.

On Sept. 24, a grand jury in Newark returned a seven-count indictment charging the Sorrentinos with conspiracy to defraud the United States and filing false tax returns. Michael Sorrentino was also charged with failing to file a tax return.

According to the indictment, the brothers received several million dollars in connection with Michael Sorrentino’s role as a cast member on the MTV television show “Jersey Shore” and other promotional activities. The brothers are charged with failing to report all of the income they received.

They are also charged with claiming personal expenses as business expenses, including payments for luxury vehicles, high-end clothing, and making distributions – or direct payments – from the businesses to personal bank accounts. Both have pleaded not guilty; a trial date has not yet been set.

The conspiracy charge to which Mark pleaded guilty carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for March 24, 2016.

Sorrentino and his brother, Marc, have been indicted on charges of filing false business and personal tax returns between 2010 and 2012, the report states. They allegedly failed to properly pay taxes on $8.9 million in income earned from promotional activities. The pair also wrote off luxury cars, clothing, and personal grooming bills as business costs.

Marc Sorrentino was assigned a court-appointed attorney in June after he told authorities he had no savings, The Record reported. The brothers were scheduled to stand trial in September, but had that pushed back.