A New Jersey man who once stiffed the New York Yankees out of more than $626,000 was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to tax evasion, authorities said.
Shipping company owner Walter Hass of Hewitt — who was accused in 2020 of failing to pay the Yankees for eight seats, food and beverage in a suite he’d signed up for — used cash that should have gone to the taxman on everything from luxury cars such as Aston Martins and McClarens, high-end watches, designer clothes and vacations.
While he initially pleaded guilty in October 2023, Hass, 63, concocted a kidney cancer diagnosis and submitted phony letters from doctors to the court in a bid to avoid having the guilty plea entered into court.
“Hass did not have cancer and attempted to travel throughout the United States and around the world during this time. Only when law enforcement discovered his deception did he ultimately admit to his conduct,” the US Attorney’s Office in New Jersey said.
His sentence, handed down Tuesday, includes three years supervised release.
Hass failed to collect, account for and pay payroll taxes between 2014 and 2022, and during that stretch, he was also cheating the Yankees, according to court records.
The Bronx Bombers brought the Bergen County man to Manhattan Federal Court in 2020, claiming he signed an eight-year deal for eight seats in a suite that included food and beverages.
The Yankees initially wanted an eye-popping $1.5 million before arbitrators knocked down the amount, and a judge later confirmed the award but it’s unclear if Hass ever paid up.
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