New Jersey Businessman Indicted on Tax Charges

PHILADELPHIA—Mark Olkowski, 62, of North Wildwood, New Jersey, a business partner in K&O Sports, was indicted today on tax charges, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. K&O sports, on Moyamensing Avenue, is a South Philadelphia distributor of T-shirts and other clothing items for labor unions, municipalities, and political candidates.

According to the indictment, Olkowski under-reported, by approximately $250,000, K&O’s gross partnership receipts to the Internal Revenue Service on K&O’s partnership tax returns from 2006 through 2009. Olkowski also allegedly failed to report all of his “flow through” partnership income on his personal income tax returns during that same time period. It is further alleged that Olkowski failed to report as income the value of personal expenses he paid with corporate funds and failed to report as income significant sums of cash received by K&O but which he retained and did not deposit to K&O business accounts.

Olkowski is charged with filing four false personal income tax returns and four false partnership tax returns for his business during 2006 through 2009. Olkowski is also charged with 15 counts of wire fraud concerning approximately $25,000 in allegedly improper unemployment compensation benefits he received while he held an ownership interest in K&O Sports and was receiving income from K&O.

If convicted, Olkowski faces a maximum possible sentence of over 100 years in prison, five years’ supervised release, a $5.75 million fine, and a $2,300 assessment.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul L. Gray and John M. Gallagher.