The owner of a trucking company is being charged with fraud and tax evasion after he allegedly used over $700,000 in employee payroll taxes to fund what prosecutors are calling his “extravagant personal expenses.”
Michael Gerstenberg owns Pennsylvania-based AE Logistics. Gerstenberg withheld federal income, Medicare, and Social Security taxes from his employees’ paychecks as expected. But, from 2010 and 2015, prosecutors say that instead of paying that money to the IRS, the company kept it.
Gerstenberg took a Caribbean vacation, gambled, paid his country club dues, went to night clubs, bought jewelry, and more. The money for those things allegedly came out of the company’s accounts – accounts which were padded with employee payroll taxes.
Prosecutors claim that AE Logistics failed to pay $732,291 in tax.
According to Lehigh Valley Live, investigators also discovered that Gerstenberg had allegedly filed a false income tax return for his girlfriend in 2012 and 2013, inflating her income. Court documents suggest that she did not know about the fraudulent tax return.
Gerstenberg has been charged with tax evasion and fraud.
Source: gobytrucknews, mcall, wfmz, lehighvalleylive
Charles says
White-collar crime, is permissible in this day and age. Actually, more acceptable for years. Its why regulations are so hated…by a particular segment of society.
Ironically…they appear very similar to those who commit such crime, more often than most groups.
Jacob says
My company will not allow its drivers to wear body cameras so the driver can protect them and document wrong doing of issues. However, the company can have cameras on it’s own property . Ie at dispatch window. Entrance to bathrooms. Hallways. Entrance to bldg. We all want to be protected. But because of bad bosses. The company wont allow cameras so we can document wrong doings by rotten bosses. Why these companies protect these rotten people?
Jacob says
This company is located out of New York. And has terminals through out America. You know . The land of the free. I feel they are violating my civil rights for not allowing its drivers to protect them self’s while on the job. Making late night deliveries behind stores can be dangerous. Guess they want no proof of issues. Assaults. Crimes. Must not care for its employees (drivers). I can see a law suit coming from this eventually.
Tony Barkley says
Lawsuits won’t help the drivers. I doubt the 700k is laying around somewhere ready to be paid into the driver’s payroll taxes. Basically, the drivers are screwed.
Kelly says
Jacob I’m missing your point on cameras vs. this guy using employee payroll withholding to fund his entertainment. I was a victim of this on a small scale working at temp firm years ago. The business closed and he only owed around 80k. I know mine gets done now, as I’m an employee and own the business. My wife does all that for us, thankfully. Bad thing about it that’s money to support SS, Medicare and for taxes.
Tony Barkley says
You can wear body cameras anyway regardless of their rule against it. They won’t know unless you tell it if it’s the typical small body cam.
Sara says
The answer could be body cams put companies in situations that
they don’t want to mess with . They figure you can’t afford an attorney as big as there’s so you may as well be thankful you even work for them . We are disposable people. Cell phones aren’t illegal to use. As long as they don’t notice it recording . Try wearing a go pro be a tourist.
Jacob says
White collar crimes start at the top and management level.
Jason says
Probably got the idea from the PA Turnpike Commission and PennDOT. . Since, you know, the two of them love to misappropriate funds left and right.
William says
I agree with Jacobs comments about the use of body cameras by drivers, and drivers who make late night deliveries. How stupid can management be to not allow this. What are they afraid of? being caught with dirty fingers, dirty comments, dirty actions? this would only prove to higher management that their own management people are dirty, it’s called evidence, documentation, proof, it seems they just don’t want proof on how dirty and dishonest some of their management can be, only to be protected by upper management. My company has cameras within their own offices, dispatch office, even at the entrance of our darn bathrooms. OMG, can you believe that? And they won’t allow drivers to protect themselves. how sad this is, for this policy to be only 1 way here. Seems ok for them, but SCREW the employee.
Tony Barkley says
Lesson: always trust corporations because as our politicians tell us, they can always be trusted to do the right thing. After all, why would they ever do anything to sabotage their own businesses….right? 🙄
Kevin Chevalier says
Wow, something new to add to the list Lmao!!!!
MT Pockets says
There are SO many shysters at the mgmt levels of trucking that its just sickening…and drivers are just used as pawns & are expendable. That’s how they think. They don’t care about drivers no matter what their glossy advertising says ‘you’re treated like family’ or ‘you’re not just a number’ or ‘we know our drivers by name’ etc. How many times we read about companies big & small ripping off drivers, leaving them stranded on the road after going bankrupt w/ no notice, bouncing paychecks, ripping off their retirement pensions? It probably happens more in the trucking business than any other industry. Its just easy to get away with it for a long time. Some of those shysters get caught & busted, but how many other shysters who own or are in high mgmt at hundreds, if not thousands of trucking companies, are getting away it today? Lots of them are, from paying ‘book miles’ to lame ‘per diem’ arrangements to sketchy payroll bs. Sadly, truckers are takin advantage of at every turn, from their own companies; executives, salesman, mechanics, everyone gets a piece of the pie from every mile you run, that you might not actually even be paid 100% for, ya know? Then you’re taken advantage of at shippers & receivers too! And the general public. WTF, where does it end? Nobody values your time either when you drive a truck, nobody respects the actual skill it takes to drive an 18-wheeler in cities, construction zones, mountains, bad weather… and it royally sucks. It just keeps getting worse & worse as a driver on top of getting fleeced there’s more regulations, more traffic congestion, more bad attitudes. It used to be a pretty decent occupation to make a decent living back in the 80s. There ain’t a damn thing good about it anymore IMO so I pumped the brakes, parked, climbed out of the rig a year ago & walked away. Actually I ran. Fast. I don’t miss it one bit. Not even a smidgen. Trucking is in the sewer & I didn’t enjoy working in the sewer so enough bs was enough for me.
Sid says
What u doing now
Sara says
A repeat of stories once told perhaps he will have a cooking class in prison like Martha Stewart did
Msjr says
I know trucking white collar crimes are huge in the trucking industry. I was racked out of over 100000 between 2013 to 2017 and more over the years.
Chuck Bier says
The driver’s have not lost anything. Fed. Law says once the money is deducted the employee can consider it paid. No matter what the company does with the money.
Razor says
The problem with is the friggin hourly rate in nz
george says
my: pops always told me a man with a briefcase can steal more than a man with a gun, anyday
Mike G says
Is this the same Gerstenberg from Mid Atlantic, NJ?