Disgraced Nassau real estate mogul is NY's top 'delinquent taxpayer'; $48M in debt, records show

More than 20 Long Island taxpayers made the New York State Tax Department and Finance’s delinquent taxpayers "top 100” list this summer, battling a total debt of nearly $91 million in unpaid income and sales taxes.

State tax officials publish a list every few months of taxpayers falling into delinquency and facing at least one tax warrant. Authorities can use these warrants to seize personal belongings and property, withhold income and suspend driver's licenses. Warrants also can significantly affect one’s ability to buy real estate.

Former Nassau County real estate mogul Adam Hochfelder currently tops the state list, owing the lion's share of total debts at more than $48 million in personal income taxes. 

In a statement to Newsday, Hochfelder disputed owing nearly $50 million in taxes to the state, claiming that amount stemmed from an "erroneous" tax form he was issued in 2013. In 2004, Hochfelder sold his majority partnership in a Manhattan property at 1440 Broadway and became a 1% partner, he said. When that property was later sold in 2013, an owner issued an improper tax form allocating $50 million in profits to Hochfelder, despite him having sold his majority partnership, he said.

"Hochfelder’s counsel has been working with NY State to get Hochfelder’s 2013 tax allocation corrected," the statement read. If corrected, Hochfelder would owe a sum closer to $200,000, he said.

Ryan Cleveland, a spokesman for the state tax department, did not respond to questions about the dispute.

While these unpaid personal taxes are just a sliver of what the state brings in each year, New York's general fund takes a hit — leaving compliant taxpayers to shoulder the burden. The state could initiate spending cuts or even raise tax rates to make up for hundreds of millions of dollars in budget gaps.

'Protecting New York State's interests'

After Nassau , with a total debt of more than $68 million, the county with the next highest total tax debt among delinquents is Albany, owing $66 million, followed by Brooklyn, owing nearly $33 million. Delinquents in Suffolk, meanwhile, owe nearly $23 million. It is unclear how many people on the list, if any, have resolved their debts after the list was published in July.

To make the state's "top 100" delinquents list, a taxpayer must have a tax warrant filed against them in the last 12 months. Warrants protect New York State's interests and make sure taxpayers in debt cannot liquidate major assets, according to the Tax Department. They are also the first step in the civil enforcement process, allowing state officials to seize someone's assets.

"This list is about transparency and fairness," Cleveland wrote in a statement to Newsday.

Enforcement measures ensure "law abiding taxpayers aren't at a disadvantage to taxpayers who disregard their legal obligations ... [they] maintain a level playing field among all New Yorkers," he wrote. The state also publishes a list of "top 100" delinquent businesses.

Tax warrants are filed only once someone's debt becomes "fixed and final," meaning the taxpayer has been given notice "and an opportunity to be heard," according to the Tax Department.

The list excludes people who are protesting the state's assessment, have filed for bankruptcy, are working to pay back their debt or who have died.

Other Nassau tax 'delinquents'

Several other Nassau taxpayers led the state's list, with debts ranging in the low millions from personal income tax to sales taxes from owning local restaurants.

• Zvi Yosef, owner of Cookoo Rico and the now-closed Chimichurri Charcoal Chicken, a kosher barbecue eatery, owes nearly $3 million in sales and personal income tax. In 2021, Chimichurri sued a group of local rabbis in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway, alleging they used "mafia tactics" to hold a monopoly over the kosher restaurant certification process to collect monthly fees. The restaurant also claimed the rabbis wrecked its lucrative catering business, telling clients that the restaurant was not actually kosher, according to court papers.

• George and Tassos Strifas, who own Colony Diner in East Meadow, owe nearly $3 million in sales tax. In 2013, the duo pleaded guilty to underpaying 72 workers and forging documents, agreeing to pay back more than half a million dollars. They were later sued in 2021 for non-consensually touching women who worked for them, and asking them personal questions about their sex lives. The case was settled with nearly $550,000 in payouts.

Yosef and the Strifases did not respond to a request for comment over their tax delinquency.

Stealing from family and friends

Hochfelder, once known in the real estate industry as the "Wharton Whiz kid," was arrested in 2008 for tricking family and friends into lending him $17 million, including the best man at his wedding, forging documents in the process. He was later found guilty. While his victims thought they were investing in a luxury hotel on Lake George and a resort in Telluride, Colorado, Hochfelder spent the cash on legal bills, a personal driver and private jets, according to court records.

In 2010, Hochfelder was arrested again on charges of stealing $2.5 million more from his loved ones. He served two years in prison, records show.

"He’s completely blown out his nose," his lawyer told a Manhattan judge at the time, referring to Hochfelder’s purported drug addiction that he said required at least two nose surgeries to repair damage. He also attended a substance abuse treatment program, according to his lawyer.

Years later, a 2018 blog called "Hochfelder's Triumph Story" published on Hochfelder’s personal website, read: "Adam managed to purchase his first building by the time he was 27, literally taking control of New York’s skyline." A Manhattan prosecutor once slammed Hochfelder’s overblown self-perception, describing him as having an "outstanding level of arrogance and entitlement."

Hochfelder remembered his 1989 Jericho High School graduating class voted him "Most Likely to Succeed," according to his lawyer. But his yearbook showed that honor went to another student that year. Instead, Hochfelder was voted "best dressed," The New York Times reported.

In 2019, Hochfelder was again arrested and pleaded guilty to scheming to defraud tens of thousands of dollars from at least two people.