MONMOUTH COUNTY – A local man was arrested and charged with evading the payment of over $80,000 in taxes, officials said.
Raymond J. Salani Jr., 67, of Morganville, was charged by an indictment with two counts of tax evasion and was released on $50,000 unsecured bond.
Salani was the president and owner of Medical Nutrition Inc., located in West Long Branch, which allegedly provided management services to Lifestyles Medical LLC, a medical practice also controlled by Salani and located in the same office as Medical Nutrition.
According to officials, Salani was not a licensed physician and was prohibited under New Jersey law from owning a medical practice and employing licensed healthcare professionals.
However, Salani proceeded to employ a licensed physician to work at Lifestyles Medical part-time and act as nominee owner. Instead, Salani would act as the true owner, managing daily operations and controlled financial accounts.
Officials said Salani attempted to conceal his income from the IRS between January 2016 and May 2017 by transferring income earned by Lifestyles Medical into the business bank account for Medical Nutrition. He allegedly used the funds from Medical Nutrition’s business bank account to pay for personal expenses, including mortgage payments on his personal residence, payments to pay down balances on a personal credit card account in his spouse’s name, and payments for a personal vehicle leased by Salani.
Legally, Salani is required to report the income he received from Medical Nutrition to the IRS on his personal income tax returns for tax years 2016 and 2017. He failed to file a personal income tax return in 2016 and failed to report any of the income he received through Medical Nutrition on his personal income tax return for 2017.
Officials said Salani failed to report $232,739 of taxable income that he received through Medical Nutrition in tax years 2016 and 2017, resulting in the evasion of $87,635 in taxes.
Each count of tax evasion carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
