Two White Plains lawyers claim that a Tarrytown accountant has cost them more than $42,000 by failing to file their federal business tax returns for several years.
John and Julie Cherico accused Joseph A. LoRiggio and the LoRiggio accounting firm of accounting malpractice, in a complaint filed on June 27 in Westchester Supreme Court.
The Chericos repeatedly demanded that the business tax returns be completed, according to the complaint, but LoRiggio “inexplicably ignored such demands.”
The Chericos, of North Salem, focus primarily on matrimonial, criminal and general litigation law from an office on Battle Avenue, White Plains.
LoRiggio, who also is a lawyer, runs an accounting practice at the Tarrytown Corporate Center.
The Chericos hired LoRiggio in 2018, according to the complaint, to handle their state and federal business tax returns.
This past February, the Internal Revenue Service notified them that Form W-3 wages and Form 941 quarterly taxes had not been submitted for 2021 to 2023. Later, they discovered that the 2024 tax forms also had not been filed.
LoRiggio insisted that he had performed his services and that he would promptly remedy the situation with the IRS, the complaint states. But since May 12 LoRiggio has not responded to any communications.
The Chericos hired Carmel accountant Troy Levine to clean up the matter. Levine discovered that LoRiggio had also failed to claim depreciation deductions on their office from 2018 through 2024, according to an affidavit. And he noticed several “discrepancies and inaccuracies” on Julie Cherico’s income tax returns “that could potentially raise concerns if brought to the attention of the IRS.”
The Chericos accused LoRiggio of professional malpractice, breach of contract, and negligence. They are demanding more than $42,000 in monetary damages for the fees they paid LoRiggio, the cost of hiring a new accountant, missed deductions and an IRS penalty.
They also filed complaints with the IRS, the state agency that regulates accountants, and the New York State Society of CPAs.
LoRiggio did not reply to an email asking for his side of the story.
