Former Ocean County GOP Chairman sentenced to year in prison

Once a the top of the political community in Ocean County as head of the GOP party, attorney George Gilmore, 70, has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for two counts of failing for pay over payroll taxes withheld from employees to the IRS.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig also announced that Gilmore was also sentenced for one count of making false statements on a bank loan application submitted to Ocean First Bank N.A.

Gilmore was acquitted of two counts of filing false tax returns for 2013 and 2014 as the jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict on the one count of income tax evasion for the period of 2013-15 in a trial that began on April 1, 2019 and concluded today in Trenton federal court.

Before last year he worked as an equity partner and shareholder at Gilmore & Monahan P.A., a law firm based in Toms River but serviced multiple clients and municipalities in Ocean County, and also where Gilmore exercised primary control over the firm's financial affairs.

According to other details that came out in court, Gilmore was also responsible for withholding payroll taxes from the gross salary and wages of the law firm's employees to cover individual income, Social Security and Medicare tax obligations.

For the 2nd tax quarter in 2016, the law firm withheld tax payments from its employees' checks and Gilmore failed to pay over in full, the payroll taxes due to the IRS.

He also submitted a loan application to Ocean First Bank containing false statements.

On November 21, 2014 Gilmore reviewed, signed and submitted to Ocean First Bank a Uniform Residential Loan Application to obtain refinancing of a mortgage loan for $1.5-million with a "cash out" provision that provided he would obtain cash from the loan.

On June 22 of 2015, Gilmore submitted another URLA updating the initial application.

Gilmore was then accused of failing to disclose his outstanding 2013 tax liabilities and personal loans that he obtained from others on the URLA's and received $572,000 from the cash out portion of the loan.

In addition to his prison term handed down on Wednesday, Gilmore was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Gilmore's attorney, Kevin Marino, plans to appeal the sentence, according to the Asbury Park Press, and he is requesting that Gilmore remain free on bail pending his appeal.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jihee Suh felt Gilmore should be getting a sentence of 27-33 months in prison, according to the APP, and said that he spent lavishly on items like vintage Coca Cola machines, pinball machines, artwork and animal tusks instead of paying the payroll taxes.

The government is represented by Deputy U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Skahill; Assistant U.S. Attorney Jihee G. Suh of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division; and Trial Attorney Thomas F. Koelbl of the U.S. Department of Justice - Tax Division.

Defense counsel: Kevin H. Marino Esq., Chatham, New Jersey.

More Jersey Shore News: