Prison For Linden Autobody Shop Owner Who Admitted To Tax Fraud

LINDEN, NJ — The owner of an autobody shop in Linden was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for filing a false tax return on behalf of his company, U.S. Attorney Phillip Sellinger announced Thursday.

The company is Buses and Trucks Inc., an automotive repair business located in Linden.

Gabriel Ferrari, who lives in Edison, is the sole owner.

Ferrari previously pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return, and he was sentenced Wednesday of this week in Newark federal court.

Federal prosecutors say he filed the corporate tax return for his company for tax year 2011 in January 2015. Prosecutors say Ferrari knew at the time he had unstated the company's gross receipts.

In fact, Ferrari diverted the company's gross receipts to pay personal expenses, including gambling on horse races, and did not report those diverted receipts.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Ferrari to one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $87,926.

This case was investigated by special agents with the IRS.