New Jersey CPA Pleads Guilty to $2.5 Million Tax Fraud

A New Jersey Certified Public Accountant has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting fraudulent tax shelters to high-income clients.

According to court documents and statements made in court, James H. Benkoil of Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey, promoted fraudulent syndicated conservation easements in which several investors form a partnership or company to purchase or invest in land, then donate the property for a charitable deduction. The scheme facilitated false claims of inflated charitable contribution tax deductions in connection with the “donation” of the conservation easement over land, allowing Benkoil’s high-income clients to buy deductions to illegally shelter their income from taxation.

Between 2009 and 2020, while working as a CPA, Benkoil and others, promoted such fraudulent syndicated conservation easement tax shelters by obtaining falsely inflated land appraisals to achieve the desired amount of tax deductions. As a part of his guilty plea, Benkoil admitted his conduct resulted in a tax loss to the IRS of nearly $2.5 million and has agreed to pay full restitution.