Executive Director Of Private Club Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Filing False Tax Returns
Tax Returns Failed to Disclose Approximately $433,000 in Personal Expenses and Other Benefits Provided to Executive Director by the Club
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William Cheung, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced that MICHAEL GYURE, the executive director of a private club in Manhattan, pled guilty today to filing false federal income tax returns. GYURE pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As he admitted in court today, while serving as the executive director of a private club in Manhattan, Michael Gyure ripped off the IRS. Gyure’s filing of false tax returns is no laughing matter, and he now awaits sentencing for this crime.”
IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge William Cheung said: “Gyure’s attempt to evade tax by filing false tax returns was a theft from the American public. It is a felony that carries severe consequences. As we start the tax filing season, it is a timely reminder of the overarching principle of IRS’s enforcement strategy: We protect the integrity of the tax system by ensuring everyone pays the right amount of tax.”
According to allegations contained in the Information to which GYURE pled guilty and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:
At all times relevant to the conduct outlined in the Information, GYURE was the executive director of a private club (the “Club”) located in Manhattan. In 2012, GYURE entered into an employment agreement with the Club entitling him to the payment of certain personal expenses. Between 2012 and 2016, GYURE received more than approximately $273,000 in reimbursements and direct payments from the Club to pay for personal expenses including, among other things, the purchase of wine sent to GYURE’s home, international travel for GYURE and his family members, and purchases of clothing and groceries. Additionally, during this same period, the Club reclassified more than $160,000 in loans that had previously been made to GYURE as additional compensation, above and beyond GYURE’s salary. The payments for personal expenses made to GYURE and the reclassification of loans as additional compensation to GYURE came at a time when the Club was attempting to address a decrease in revenues and cash management issues. By in or about 2015, for example, the Club was asking vendors to accept reduced or late payments and, during the period between 2015 and 2016, the Club failed to pay several hundred thousand dollars in sales taxes to the State of New York.
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In each of tax year 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, GYURE caused to be filed with the IRS income tax returns that understated his income by failing to report the income he earned from the Club as payments of personal expenses and additional compensation due to reclassification of loans. During the period between tax years 2012 and 2016, GYURE caused losses to the IRS of more than $150,000.
GYURE, 50, of New York, New York, pled guilty to one count of filing false federal income tax returns, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. GYURE has agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of at least $156,920, which represents the additional tax due and owing as a result of GYURE’s underpayment of income taxes for the tax years 2012 through 2016. Sentencing is scheduled for April 22, 2019, at 2:45 p.m., before Judge Buchwald.
The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of IRS-CI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in this case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Katherine Reilly and Sheb Swett are in charge of the prosecution.
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