Pharmacy owner gets 30-month prison term for defrauding IRS

TRENTON » A pharmacy owner convicted of conspiracy to defraud the IRS by concealing income was sentenced Wednesday to more than two years in prison.

Rao Desu must also pay $459,075 in restitution and will also have to serve two years of supervised release once he’s freed from prison.

Desu, 53, of Warren, is a co-owner of several pharmacies. Federal prosecutors said he and the separate coowners of his pharmacies in Piscataway and the Bronx, New York, conspired to conceal the business’ cash income for several years as part of separate cash-skimming schemes.

Desu was convicted at trial on two counts of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and four counts of aiding and assisting in subscribing to false tax returns. He received a 30-month sentence Wednesday.