EDISON, NEW JERSEY (TIP): A US federal court has sentenced Indian American Sameer Gupta, to 19 months of imprisonment for concealing more than USD 1.2 million income in various domestic and Indian banks. The sentencing came July 9 after 33-year-old Sameer Gupta, a resident of Edison city in New Jersey pleaded guilty before US Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz on February 26, 2013, for tax evasion by diverting funds from the wholesale merchandise business, J S Marketers Inc to undisclosed foreign accounts at HSBC in India, among other places.

According to the court documents, Gupta is the 50 percent owner of J S Marketers, which sells adult paraphernalia to large adult store chains and smaller retail video stores and bodegas. Between 2006-2009, Gupta diverted USD 822,916 of the business receipts into 17 different personal bank accounts held in the names of various individuals, including himself and family members.

He directed more than USD 250,000 of those diverted funds into six different accounts at a HSBC branch in India. “From 2007 through 2009, Gupta caused 22 J S Marketers corporate checks to be made payable to himself and family members in amounts identical to invoices from the business suppliers,” federal prosecutors said.

“Gupta endorsed those checks of USD 375,138, and deposited them into bank accounts that he controlled and filed individual income tax returns between 2006-2009 that did not report his income from the diverted funds,” the Department of Justice said. Gupta evaded taxes on USD 1,198,054 in income between 2006-2009. He also failed to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, (FBARs), for 2006 through 2008.

The tax loss resulting from Gupta’s conduct, not including interest and penalties, is USD 383,475.In addition to the prison term, Judge Hochberg sentenced Gupta to serve two years of supervised release.As part of his plea agreement, Gupta has paid to the United States Treasury a one-time FBAR penalty of USD 259,045 and has cooperated with the IRS in the investigation of his outstanding taxes dues.Judge Hochberg also ordered Gupta to pay an additional fine of USD 20,000.