Crime & Safety

Forest Hills Man Sentenced In Tax Fraud Case

Business owner avoided taxes for nearly $400,000 in online cash transfers.

A Forest Hills business owner was sentenced to two years in federal prison this week, according to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

Ilya Boruch, a Forest Hills man who owns Bidding Expert, a Rego Park financial services business, was convicted of fraud in 2011.

One of the services Boruch offered to customers was the ability to exchange cash for "WebMoney," a Russian-based Internet currency. 

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The U.S. Attorney said in a statement that Boruch took large sums of cash from two men who had acquired stolen bank account information and PIN numbers. He then helped them transfer more than $390,000 in cash through the "WebMoney" system without filing Currency Transaction Reports. CTRs are required by the IRS for cash transactions online over $10,000.

Boruch would often make cash pick-ups from his cohorts in plastic shopping bags throughout the city, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

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He was convicted of one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and was acquitted of one count of money laundering conspiracy.

According to Bharara, Boruch "not only broke the law when he concealed over $390,000 in cash transactions from the IRS, but he helped others do the same. Today’s sentence makes clear that compliance with federal tax laws is not optional.”


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