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Mostly Cloudy Jail time for East Rockaway man
Contractor ordered to pay more than $1 in restitution
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced the jail and restitution sentencing today of an unlicensed East Rockaway contractor in scams that cheated clients, mostly senior citizens, out of more than $300,000 in payments, and deprived the State of New York of more than $790,000 in taxes.
Robert Cohan, 27, was sentenced before Nassau County Court Judge Tammy Robbins to 1 to 3 years in prison, and a civil judgment of $1,111,980.08, which includes restitution to his victims and more than $790,000 in unremitted sales tax and unpaid income tax to the New York State Department of Tax and Finance.
Cohan pleaded guilty in January 2014 to three counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, two counts of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, one count of Criminal Tax Fraud in the Fourth Degree, and one count of Tax Fraud in the Fifth Degree.
“Whether it was elderly homeowners or every taxpayer of New York State, this defendant tried to cheat his victims out of more than a million dollars in a brazen disregard for the law,” Rice said. “Tax crimes often follow other financial crimes, and my office will continue to work with our partners in state government to hold consumer and tax cheats accountable.”
Rice said that in July 2012, Cohan approached a 73-year-old woman living in Woodmere, informed her that he owned a driveway company, and offered to repair her damaged driveway for $78,600. He said he would need the cash up front, but that he would be able to get the victim a rebate from New York State for $88,600, netting her a brand new driveway and a $10,000 profit.
The victim agreed, and also agreed to pay Cohan $1,500 to paint her deck and repair cracks in her home’s foundation. Cohan promised to pay her the rebate funds by September 7, 2012. There was no written contract, only a handwritten receipt from Cohan that the victim would receive the rebate. Between July and September 2012, the victim gave Cohan 43 checks totaling $67,490 and $10,400 in cash.
