April 15, 2022

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today announced that Puppy Petite, Inc., located at 8002 17th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, paid $2,113,538.66 in restitution, penalty and interest following a guilty plea to fourth-degree criminal tax fraud, a felony.

Puppy Petite, Inc., and Quality Canines, Inc., failed to remit more than $805,000 in sales tax collected from customers between December 2013 and August 2019, and failed to file most of the sales tax returns it was required to file during this period.

Tax Department investigators also found that those sales tax returns that were filed by both businesses grossly underreported the amount of sales tax collected.

“Business owners who steal sales tax paid by their customers deprive their communities of revenue for vital public programs and services and put law-abiding businesses at a competitive disadvantage,” said Acting New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Amanda Hiller. “We’ll continue to work with all our partners in law enforcement to uncover tax evasion and level the playing field for all businesses.”

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.