Former NYC council member sentenced to 3 months for tax evasion

A former New York City Council member on Thursday pleaded guilty to tax evasion, earning him a short prison stint, The Associated Press reports.

Chaim Deutsch, a Brooklyn Democrat, was sentenced to three months for failing to pay more than $82,000 in taxes and filing a false tax return for the 2015 tax year. In addition to the prison time, Deutsch was ordered to pay $107,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, as well as a $5,500 fine.

The former city council member was first elected to the legislative body in 2013. He was booted from the council in April after pleading guilty to filing a tax return that “included false and fraudulent information concerning his income and business expenses” in connection with his real estate management corporation, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Deutsch was facing a maximum sentence of one year in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $100,000 and an order of restitution.

“As an elected official and community leader, Deutsch had a particular responsibility to follow the law,” said U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss in an April statement shared by the DOJ. “Instead, over a multi-year period, Deutsch concealed his true business income to avoid paying his fair share of taxes.”

Deutsch admitted his fault in remarks to U.S. Magistrate Judge James Cott.

“I want to apologize to the court, my family, my former staff from the City Council’s office, and most of all, my former constituents of District 48,” he said, according to Brooklyn Paper. “I apologize for the conduct that brings me to my sentencing today.”

He added, “I was wrong for what I did. I should never have tried to avoid paying my fair share of taxes. I’ll have to live with these bad decisions for the rest of my life.”