Metro

Economist who dodged tax due to ‘religious objection’ gets four years behind bars

An economist who claimed a “religious objection” to dodge paying taxes was sentenced today to four years behind bars and three years of supervised release for cheating the IRS out of $1.67 million over two decades.

David Gilmartin, 69, had been found guilty last year of failing to report his income with the IRS from 1989 to 2010 and with providing his employers bogus forms in which he claimed to be exempt from federal income taxes.

Before the sentencing in Manhattan federal court, his lawyer asked Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum for leniency, citing Gilmartin’s age and him being a first-time offender.

But the judge fired back, “It was a first offense that was committed for 20 years!”

Gilmartin, a former New Yorker who now lives in California, had worked as a consultant to credit-card and pharmaceutical firms.

According to his criminal indictment, Gilmartin engaged in a variety of schemes to avoid sharing his income with Uncle Sam, including refusing to give one employer his Social Security number, “citing a purported ‘religious objection,’ in an attempt to prevent the employer from withholding taxes.”

Gilmartin also must reimburse the feds $2,532 in legal fees for their prosecution, but the judge pointed out that it is a “fairy tale” to believe he could pay back all of the $1.67 million he cheated the IRS out of considering his shaky finances.

Gilmartin was released following the sentencing but must report to a yet-to-be-determined prison in October.

He and his lawyer declined comment.