Nassau DA: Melville Man Stole $500K in Tax Fraud

A Melville man robbed state coffers of nearly a half million dollars through multiple tax fraud schemes in order to pay alimony and child support to his ex-wife and children, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced Wednesday.

Phillip Missirlian, 55, was arrested Wednesday morning and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted, Rice said. 

Missirlian was the CEO of Massapequa-based Greystone Staffing, Inc. and Greystone Healthcare Staffing of NY, LLC. According to Rice, for tax years 2007 and 2009, Greystone Staffing failed to remit $346,047 of employees’ withholding taxes and Greystone Healthcare Staffing failed to remit $150,813 of employees’ withholding taxes.

“The elaborate schemes and scams these two defendants orchestrated in order to steal money from honest taxpayers is shocking,” Rice said, also referring to a Plainview man arrested last month on fraud charges. “At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, law enforcement will continue to find and arrest those who refuse to pay their fair share.”

Missirlian is charged with three counts of grand larceny, two counts of criminal tax fraud, criminal tax fraud and four counts of failure to pay tax. He was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. 

Greystone Staffing and Greystone Healthcare Staffing were also charged with the same crimes as Missirlian, and each company faces up to a $10,000 fine if convicted.