Image courtesy of https://spcclean.com/about/
The Warrington man that owns SPC Cleaning Services in Horsham is due in court in November.
A Warrington man is facing felony charges after he failed to pay taxes on his Horsham-based business for multiple years.
According to the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General (POAG), a multi-year investigation has resulted in felony charges for Scott J. Israel, 45, of the 800 block of Sand Wedge Court, in Warrington, the owner and president of SPC Cleaning Services. Reports state that Israel failed to make payments after Pennsylvania agents made several attempts over the past three or more years to set up plans for his unpaid taxes.
Special Agent Kim Bevan said that, while working as a field enforcement agent for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, attempted on many occasions to reach and make arrangements with Israel, reports stated. With initial contacts dated Oct. 14, 2021, according to the POAG’s reports, Bevan said she exchanged in-person visits, emails, and phone calls with Israel in an attempt to arrange payment for over $84,000 in back taxes.
Documents state that Israel had not properly filed taxes since August of 2020, which, based on principal amount only, totaled $84,000. Bevan said she wanted to offer a Deferred Payment Plan (DPP) to Israel, but to do so she would need the missing years’ taxes to be filed. He was given 14 days to file, reports said, and Bevan asked that Israel email him once that was complete.
As of Oct. 26, 2021, documents state that Israel offered to pay $1,000 per month on his debts, but Bevan relayed that this DPP would take more than seven years to pay down the debt, and that she could not accept such terms.
According to reports from the POAG, Bevan returned to the business on Jan. 10, 2022 to issue a citation and explain the process to Israel. Bevan said that Israel had still not made any payments against the liability nor had pursued any DPP. Israel asked for a longer than 12-month DPP, and Bevan said she referred him to “another unit to get a longer DPP,” said reports.
On Feb. 23, 2022, reports state that Bevan appeared in a Hatboro District Court (38-1-4) before Magisterial District Judge Paul N. Leo regarding a citation hearing on the Israel case. Israel pled guilty via Zoom, as reports state he had COVID-19 at the time. Israel asked for another DPP, thought officials testified that he’d not made any plans since October 2021 to do so. The courts, at the time, fined Israel $500 plus court costs for a total of $564.25, said reports.
Nearly a year later, on Jan. 19, 2023, Bevan conducted another field visit to the business in Horsham, reports stated. She said that a sales tax license had been expired since 2019, she did not bring a surrender letter, said POAG documents. The office was closed during her visit, though two cars with the business’ logo were on site. Bevan said she’d not had contact with Israel since the February 2022 court date, and reported she could not bring him into compliance.
On March 13, 2024, reports stated that Bevan was joined by Special Agent Cayla Ney, and that the two interviewed Israel with his Hatboro-based attorney, Marvin H. Gold, present. Israel testified he was the owner and operator of SPC Cleaning Services, and has been since 2014, reports stated. He said he has three, full-time employees and does charge taxable sales and collects the tax on these sales, in his business, though he has failed to pay those to the state, according to reports.
An additional interview was conducted on the matter on April 23, 2024, as Bevan interviewed Scott Rothman, an accountant at Rosenberg, Smith, Cooney, and Migilore, P.C., certified public accountants, regarding his role with SPC Cleaning Services. According to reports, that interview provided Bevan with information including that Rothman had been representing Israel since 2022, but that once he prepares sales tax returns, he confirms. With Israel via text message if the returns should be filed with funds remitted or just filed. He said, according to reports, “Israel is the person who makes the determination.”
Rothman added that he was aware that Israel had not completed payments, nor why he’d been delinquent with filing and remitting sales taxes, reports said. Furthermore, the reports stated that Rothman said he knew personal income tax returns for 2022 and 2023 were also not completed because “he never received the information from Israel to complete them.”
The reports said that the investigation concluded that Israel has willfully failed to timely file Pennsylvania personal income taxes. He faces 18 felony charges of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, with an aggregate amount of $106,235.37 owed. Additionally, Israel faces 23 misdemeanor charges, including theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, as well as on charge of failure to keep/file regulated income tax (or taxation and fiscal affairs, willful failure to timely file Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax).
Israel was released on bond signature for an unsecured amount of $5,000. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Todd Stephens on Nov. 7 at 1 p.m.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
