How ironic: Accounting professor from Mercer County, NJ, found guilty of tax-related crimes

How ironic is this: a man from Mercer County who taught others the important principles of accounting has been found guilty of tax-related crimes.

Earlier this week, 69-year-old Gordian A. Ndubizu of Princeton Junction was convicted on four counts of tax evasion and four counts of filing false tax returns in tax years 2014 through 2017.

A jury deliberated for two hours following a four-day trial.

According to federal authorities, during tax years 2014 through 2017, Ndubizu was a professor of accounting at a university in Pennsylvania and the co-owner of Healthcare Pharmacy in Trenton.

Healthcare Pharmacy was organized as an S corporation, the income of which flowed through to Ndubizu and his wife and was to be reported on their personal income tax returns. Ndubizu prepared fraudulent books and records for Healthcare Pharmacy inflating the pharmacy’s costs of goods sold to reduce and underreport the pharmacy’s actual profits flowing through to Ndubizu and his wife. In the fraudulent books and records, among other things, Ndubizu identified certain wire transfers as payments to purchase goods sold by the pharmacy when these wire transfers were in fact made to personal bank accounts under Ndubizu’s control and to bank accounts in Nigeria associated with an automotive company under Ndubizu’s control.

Each of Ndubizu’s tax returns for tax years 2014 through 2017 falsely underreported his income and falsely reported that he had no financial interest in or signature authority over any foreign bank accounts. Ndubizu failed to report approximately $3.28 million in income from the pharmacy, resulting in the evasion of approximately $1.25 million in taxes.

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Each count of tax evasion carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of filing a false tax return could send Ndubizu to prison for three years with $250,000 fines.