South Plainfield Accountant Arrested, Charged With Theft

New Brunswick NJ

08 October, 2020

8:51 PM

Description

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ — A South Plainfield accountant is charged with stealing about $385,000 in tax payments from his client, the Monmouth County prosecutor charges. William A. Berry, of South Plainfield, is the owner of William Berry & Associates, an accounting and tax preparation firm located in Englishtown. He was arrested Tuesday and charged with second-degree theft by failure to make required disposition. This comes after a 10-month investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Police allege Berry, 48, stole funds in the aggregate amount of $385,000 for his personal use from the victims between March 2017 and July 2019. Police say he received the funds from the victims' personal and business banking accounts for the purposes of remitting federal and state quarterly taxes on behalf of the victims. In turn, Berry failed to remit tax payments, said the prosecutor. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office was contacted in December 2019 by a civil attorney for victims, the owners of a multi-million-dollar wholesaler distribution company that specializes in holiday décor currently based in Charleston, South Carolina. They used to be based in New Jersey and hired Berry to help file their taxes. The victims reported having previous business dealings with Berry at his Englishtown-based practice.