The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced today that the owner of an auto body shop in Deer Park, NY has been charged with grand larceny for failing to pay the proper amount of sales tax.

The defendant is Dean Marchese, 52, of 136 Barnman St., West Babylon.  Marchese is the principal owner of Deer Park Auto Body Corporation (formerly Deer Park Collision, Inc.) at 93 West 1^st Street.  He was arrested on June 3 and charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree.

Marchese allegedly underreported $2,120,443 of the auto shop’s sales for the tax years 2009 through 2012.  The Department charged that he owes the State $182,888 in sales tax on those sales.

The defendant is scheduled for arraignment in Suffolk County First District Court on June 17.

This case was investigated by the Tax Department's Criminal Investigations Division and will be prosecuted by the Office of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Each year, New York State businesses collect nearly $25 billion in sales tax from their customers. Businesses transmit the funds to the Tax Department for state programs and distribution to local governments.

Taxpayers who believe a business hasn't collected the proper sales tax, or has collected it but failed to remit the money collected to the State, can report tax evasion and fraud online at the Tax Department's Web site or by calling 518-457-0578. The information is kept confidential.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.