The manager of a Stamford carting company that handles trash for Westchester County has been accused of diverting more than $800,000 from the business to pay for strip club visits and other personal expenses.
Christopher Oxer, general manager of City Carting of Westchester, was charged with three criminal counts of subscribing to false tax returns, May 4 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
Oxer, of Darien, Connecticut, pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison. His attorney, Andrew Quinn, declined to discuss the allegations “due to the pending litigation.”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams claims that Oxer did not report $808,753 in income on personal income tax forms from 2017 to 2019.
He diverted the money from City Carting, the feds claim, by using a company American Express credit card to pay for strip clubs, escorts, international vacations, clothing, and expenses for an unnamed personal business.
As general manager, Oxer oversaw bookkeeping, payroll and finances. He categorized credit charges for the monthly ledger and submitted them to an office manager for payments.
He allegedly categorized his personal spending as vehicle maintenance and other ordinary business expenses.
The federal case mirrors a pending criminal case brought last July against Oxer and City Carting by Westchester District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah.
She charged them with filing false financial records that concealed $135,000 in payments to strip clubs from 2018 to 2019, including $40,000 on one visit.
City Carting has had county contracts since 2004, according to the district attorney, to operate trash transfer stations, handle recyclables and provide other services.
The county requires City Carting to submit financial information to Kroll Associates, an investigations firm that monitors compliance with civil and criminal laws to ensure that the business is not under the influence of organized crime.
Rocah accused Oxer and City Carting of submitting ledgers with false information with the intent of defrauding the county.
The ledgers allegedly listed expenses such as equipment maintenance for credit card charges that were actually for strip club visits at Prime 333 at Sapphire, Sapphire Times Square and Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club.
City Carting of Westchester has a five year, $123.5 million county contract, according to Westchester’s contract database, and affiliate City Carting & Recycling has a three-year, $1.4 million contract. They are based at the same address in Stamford.
In the federal case, Oxer was released from custody on a $250,000 bond. The court restricted travel to a few states where he has court appearances or business and granted permission to take a previously planned trip from May 8 to May 12 to Las Vegas.
