Tax official is accused of benefits theft

Brunswick man falsely claimed he was not working because of the pandemic, state authorities say

State investigators charged a Brunswick man Wednesday with swindling more than $17,000 in unemployment benefits — even as he worked as a supervisor at the state Department of Taxation and Finance.

Johnny Neal, 57, filed for unemployment on Sept. 20, 2020, under the allegedly false claim that he was not working due to the COVID -19 pandemic, Attorney General Letitia James’s office announced.

To obtain unemployment benefits, eligible recipients must verify that they are either not working or are working below a certain number of hours. Once the status is verified, the state Department of Labor determines if they are eligible for benefits and what level they should receive.

Neal collected more than $17,000 in taxpayerfunded dollars for his purported unemployment — and did not stop there, officials said. Investigators determined Neal also exploited his job status to illegally gain access to confidential taxpayer information for family, friends and acquaintances to help them prepare their taxes, James’ office said.

A database of the state payroll, seethroughny, reports Neal, a supervisor at the tax department, was paid $123,663 last year.

He no longer worked for the state as of May 31, a spokesperson for James said.

Saratoga Springs-based defense attorney Mark Sacco, who is representing Neal, said Neal is retired. Sacco said the case was in its initial stages of information-gathering.

“We expect that Mr. Neal will be fully exonerated once this is all said and done,” Sacco told the Times Union.

In a statement, the attorney general said Neal “cheated taxpayers and stole from those who rely on unemployment payments.”

State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said to steal unemployment benefits during a public health crisis was “intolerable.”

Neal pleaded not guilty before Albany City Court Judge Holly Trexler to charges of thirddegree grand larceny, a felony that carries up to seven years in prison, and to a misdemeanor violation of state tax law.

Amanda Hiller, the acting commissioner of the tax department, said: “Taxpayers trust us with their most sensitive data and when that trust is violated to any degree, those responsible must be held accountable.”

It is the second criminal justice-related development for the Department of Taxation and Finance this week. On Monday, Tejuan D. Carter, 45, of Albany, pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in exchange for a threeyear prison sentence. The plea resolved an unrelated case in which Carter was charged with criminal drug sale and possession of drugs, both felonies, after staff at the tax department found 6.5 grams of cocaine in a zip-lock bag and a scale at his workplace.