Guilty Plea in Tax Evasion Case: New Jersey Man Faces Sentencing
A New Jersey resident, Zeki Donuk, pleaded guilty to a series of financial crimes, including tax evasion, employment tax violations, aiding in filing false tax returns, and making deceptive statements in bankruptcy proceedings.
Donuk operated a construction business known as Titan Builders LLC and later as Titan Steel Construction LLC (collectively referred to as “Titan”). During the period spanning 2016 to 2019, Donuk chose to cash checks made payable to Titan rather than deposit them into the business’s bank accounts.
He concealed these cashed checks and failed to report them as either gross receipts on Titan’s corporate tax returns or as income on his personal and his wife’s tax returns.
Failure to Handle Employment Taxes and Filing False Returns
As part of his guilty plea, Donuk acknowledged that he failed to collect, account for, or remit to the IRS employment taxes that had been withheld from employees’ wages during the period from the third quarter of 2016 through the third quarter of 2017.
This omission extended to not filing quarterly employment tax returns on behalf of his businesses for those respective quarters.
Deceptive Actions in Bankruptcy Proceedings
In 2019, Donuk engaged in deceptive practices during his personal bankruptcy case.
He deliberately withheld critical information from the bankruptcy court, including ownership of a vacation property in Pennsylvania, authority over specific bank accounts, outstanding tax debts owed to the IRS, and his operation of Titan Builders and Titan Steel as construction businesses.
Upcoming Sentencing and Potential Penalties
U.S. District Judge Esther Salas for the District of New Jersey has scheduled Donuk’s sentencing for January 4, 2024. Donuk could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion, employment tax negligence, and bankruptcy fraud, in addition to a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each false return conviction.
Furthermore, Donuk may be subject to supervised release, restitution orders, and monetary fines. The precise sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, taking into account U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Announcement and Investigating Agencies
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey made the announcement regarding Donuk’s guilty plea.
The case is being investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Prosecution Team
Trial Attorney Melissa S. Siskind of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin for the District of New Jersey are responsible for prosecuting the case.
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