A Mercer County pharmacy owner and accounting professor who was convicted of tax evasion last year was sentenced Monday to two years in prison, officials said.
Gordian A. Ndubizu, of the Princeton Junction section of West Windsor, was convicted on Aug. 15 of four counts of tax evasion and four counts of filing false tax returns in tax years 2014 through 2017, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey.
During those tax years he was employed as a professor at Drexel University and was the co-owner of the Healthcare Pharmacy in Trenton, investigators said.
The pharmacy was organized as an S corporation and the business’ income flowed through to Ndubizu and his wife and was to be reported on their personal income tax returns, federal prosecutors said.
His wife, Florence Ndubizu, 64, of Princeton Junction, was found guilty earlier this year of participating in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of prescription pills that were eventually sold on the street.
Gordian prepared fraudulent books and records by inflating Healthcare Pharmacy’s costs of goods sold to reduce and underreport the pharmacy’s actual profits, the office said.
In the books and records, he identified certain wire transfers as payments to purchase goods sold by the pharmacy, authorities said. These wire transfers were allegedly made to bank accounts under his control and to bank accounts in Nigeria associated with an automotive company under his control.
Each of his tax returns over the four-year period underreported his income, officials said. They also allege the returns incorrectly reported that he had no financial interest in or signature authority over any foreign bank accounts.
In total, he failed to report $3.28 million in income from the pharmacy, resulting in the evasion of approximately $1.25 million, the office said.
A spokesperson for Drexel University previously told NJ Advance Media that Gordian has been on administrative leave since 2022.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
