Orange County Man Pleads Guilty To Tax Fraud, Illegal Dumping

The owner of an Orange County business admitted he committed tax fraud and allowed construction communities to illegal dump debris on his property.

On Monday in Orange County Court, 55-year-old Raymond Otte of Slate Hill pleaded guilty to criminal tax fraud and endangering public health safety or the environment, in connection with his businesses A Thru Z Trucking, Inc. and A Thru Z Farms, Inc., which operate on Route 6 in the Town of Wawayanda.

Otte admitted that between January 2012 and July 14, 2015, he had collected $67,846 in New York State sales tax which he never sent to the Tax Department. Otte also admitted under-reporting his income on his New York State personal income tax returns and allowing several other companies to illegally dump construction and demolition debris on his Town of Wawayanda property.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, Otte will be required to pay back all of the stolen sales tax, clean up his property under the supervision of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and pay $15,000 in additional civil forfeiture.

The case against Otte began with an investigation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, who alerted the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to the illegal dumping.

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