NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Brooklyn Councilman Chaim Deutsch has pleaded guilty to evading more than $80,000 in taxes, prosecutors said Thursday.
Deutsch, whose district includes Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay and Midwood, was charged with filing a false tax return for income he netted through his real estate business, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a press release.
“As an elected official and community leader, Deutsch had a particular responsibility to follow the law,” U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement. “Instead, over a multi-year period, Deutsch concealed his true business income to avoid paying his fair share of taxes.”
Between 2013 and 2015, Deutsch failed to pay all of the taxes he owed on income from his real estate management business, Chasa Management, prosecutors said.
In the spring of 2016, the councilman filed a personal tax return with false information about his income and business expenses, according to prosecutors.
Deutsch managed to evade around $82,076 in taxes by filing the false returns, prosecutors said. New York City Council members were only barred from earning “most outside income” since the beginning of 2017, the attorney’s office noted in its release.
The Brooklyn lawmaker has agreed to pay back the $82,076 — plus interest — and could face up to a year in prison, as well as a $100,000 fine, the attorney’s office said. He is expected to be sentenced on July 29.
In a statement provided to 1010 WINS, Deutsch’s attorney, Henry Mazurek, said the councilman “accepts responsibility for his actions and intends to fully repay the $82,000 in taxes he owes.”
“Mr. Deutsch’s dedication to public service will not be diminished, and he looks forward to completing his elected term,” Mazurek said.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, however, called on Deutsch to resign.
“When it comes to our jobs as elected officials, nothing is more important than the public trust,” he said. “Council Member Chaim Deutsch betrayed that public trust by committing tax fraud.”
“Our constituents rightly expect the people they vote for to uphold the law. Deutsch failed them,” he added. “To protect the integrity of the City Council and his Brooklyn seat, he must resign,” he added. “He can no longer serve his constituents in good faith.”