Former Elizabeth Restaurant Owner Admits Stiffing IRS Of Nearly $200,000
The former owner of an Elizabeth restaurant admitted ducking nearly $200,000 in federal income taxes from the business.
Omar Rodriguez, 49, who owned Mojito’s Lounge on Bayview Avenue, told a federal judge in Trenton on Wednesday that he “skimmed a substantial portion of [gross cash receipts] for his personal use, which he did not report as income, and to pay Mojito’s employees and suppliers in cash,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.
Between 2015 and 2017, Rodriguez, of Parlin, received more than $844,000 in income from Mojito’s that he failed to report to the IRS, Carpenito said.
Of th…
Feds: Bergen-Based Debt Reliever From Wayne Scams Victims Out Of $5 Million
The founder of a Saddle Brook lending company promised to help desperate, low-income customers pay off crushing loans, then pushed them even further into debt, pocketing more than $5 million, said federal authorities who arrested him.
Edward Espinal, 44, of Wayne advertised his Cash Flow company on YouTube, other social media and Spanish-language TV, sometimes using the Venezuelan telenovela actor Víctor Cámara, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.
Espinal, who was the company’s founder and CEO, ran a couple of scams beginning 3½ years ago and ending with his arrest by federal agents earlie…
