Federal authorities arrested a Woodcliff Lakes resident on Thursday on four counts of tax evasion, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Officials said Mr. Jason Kronick, 48, was charged with an indictment on August 25, 2021, with three counts of income tax evasion and one count of employment tax evasion.
Officials said Kronick made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa in Newark federal court and was released on a $1 million unsecured bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
For the tax years 2008 through 2010, Kronick evaded payment of more than $4.3 million in income taxes, not including penalties and interest, despite having earned approximately $20 million in taxable income.
Kronick used approximately $1.5 million from his business bank accounts to buy around 40 rare and expensive watches; used at least $1.9 million from the business accounts to pay for home renovations; used company funds to pay at least $700,000 in personal credit card bills; transferred more than $700,000 from his business accounts to various casinos, where he converted the money to chips, gambled, and then redeemed chips for cash; and cashed approximately $160,000 in checks at check-cashing businesses to conceal the proceeds from the IRS.
Kronick also filed a statement with the IRS in 2011, falsely claiming that he had no income for that year when he received more than $2.8 million in revenue.
Each of the four counts of tax evasion carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.