The owner of a Falls Township accounting and financial advising firm was charged this week with stealing in excess of $200,000 from a client’s trust, officials said.
John J. Katsock Sr., 74, of Yardley, was charged with second-degree theft by unlawful taking, second-degree theft by deception and second-degree misapplication of entrusted property. Second-degree crimes carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in state prison and a $150,000 fine.
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Officials from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation into 74-year-old accountant and financial advisor whose office in based in the 600 block of Lincoln Highway in Falls started in March.
“An investigation revealed that Katsock, as the trustee of the Chauncey Meyer Irrevocable Trust, stole in excess of $200,000 since February 2010,” a press release said.
From the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office:
Katsock diverted money from the trust accounts in a variety of ways. In one scheme, he directed his client to make tens of thousands of dollars in estimated tax payments from her personal funds to both the Internal Revenue Service and the State of New Jersey Division of Taxation on behalf of the trust. Because the trust owed almost no taxes, this scheme generated large tax refunds that were then deposited into the trust. Katsock then transferred these funds to accounts he controlled. At other times, Katsock wrote checks to himself as professional fees that far exceed any permitted by law. He also diverted funds from the trust accounts to a corporation owned by the victim and then made loans that were never repaid. Finally, Katsock withdrew in excess of $50,000 in cash from one of the trust accounts and deposited the funds into his personal bank account.
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New Jersey detectives along with investigators from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, and the Falls and Lower Makefield police departments executed search warrants last week. Officials said the search warrants were served at two Yardley homes and Katsock’s Falls office.
Katsock turned himself into Mercer County authorities Tuesday morning.
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The prosecutor’s office said the investigation into the alleged theft continues.
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Pedro J. Jimenez set Katsock’s bail at $75,000 cash or bond.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
