Mercer County accounting professor arrested for tax evasion, false returns

A Mercer County accounting professor and pharmacy owner was arrested Thursday, May 12, 2022, for tax evasion and filing false tax returns.

Gordian A. Ndubizu, 67, of Princeton Junction, is charged in an eight-count indictment unsealed today with four counts of tax evasion and four counts of filing false tax returns in tax years 2014 through 2017.

Ndubizu’s initial appearance was made by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni.

According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, Ndubizu was a professor of accounting at Drexel University in Pennsylvania during tax years 2014 through 2017, as well as the co-owner of Healthcare Pharmacy in Trenton.

The pharmacy was organized as an S corporation, the income of which flowed through to Ndubizu and his wife and was to be reported on their personal income tax returns.

Ndubizu prepared fraudulent books and records for Healthcare Pharmacy inflating the pharmacy’s costs of goods sold to reduce and underreport the pharmacy’s actual profits flowing through to Ndubizu and his wife.

Ndubizu identified certain wire transfers as payments to purchase goods sold by the pharmacy when these wire transfers were in fact made to personal bank accounts and to bank accounts in Nigeria associated with an automotive company under his control.

Each of Ndubizu’s tax returns for tax years 2014 through 2017 falsely underreported his income and falsely reported that he had no financial interest in or signature authority over any foreign bank accounts.

Ndubizu failed to report approximately $3.3 million in income from the pharmacy, resulting in the evasion of approximately $1.3 million in tax due and owing.

Each count of tax evasion carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000. Each count of filing a false tax return carries a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.