Customers say this family-run NJ contractor took their money — now feds want prison time

⚠️ Federal prosecutors say a South Jersey contractor family dodged more than $450,000 in taxes.

🚧 Customers had complained for years that Stephens Contracting took payments for unfinished work.

🔴 Father and son now face prison after pleading guilty in Camden federal court.

ELMER — The family that blows off customers together stays together. 

Questions around Stephens Contracting first emerged on social media in 2022. Customers complained that they paid tens of thousands of dollars to the Elmer-based company for landscaping and construction work that was never completed.

That caught the attention of the Troubleshooters at 6abc, who spoke to four angry customers. One Clementon man said he was "angry." And one woman said it had been going on for years, and that the family-run company felt "untouchable."

South Jersey contractor family admits to federal tax crimes

Now, William Brent Stephens, 58, and his son Zackary Sulpizi, 30, have pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Both men ran the landscaping company at the center of the charges. Federal prosecutors said the duo dodged more than $450,000 in payroll and income taxes.

Stephens stood before U.S. District Judge Karen Williams in Camden federal court in early April. He pleaded guilty to tax evasion, failing to pay payroll taxes, bankruptcy fraud, and lying to the IRS. At sentencing on Aug. 4, he faces years in prison.

Then, on Wednesday, his son Sulpizi appeared in the same court in front of the same judge. He also pleaded guilty to tax evasion and failing to pay payroll taxes, plus bank fraud. Sulpizi faces years or even decades in prison at sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 19.

Both men have also agreed to repay what they owe the IRS in full.

ALSO SEE: Sparta woman gets 20 years in child exploitation case

PPP loan fraud and cash payments detailed by prosecutors

According to federal prosecutors, Sulpizi helped run Stephens Contracting for years, going back to before the pandemic. However, between 2019 and 2022, he didn't pay $34,162 in employment taxes and dodged another $74,920 in income tax.

Sulpizi also admitted to filing fraudulent forms to get a $16,935 Paycheck Protection Program loan, which was a program designed to give emergency funds to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. He's agreed to pay that loan back in full as part of his plea deal, authorities said.

His father owes even more money to the IRS. Stephens admitted that he paid his employees in cash and failed to pay $54,946 in payroll taxes. Prosecutors said he also didn't report and pay $288,297 in income tax, some of which came from an ownership interest in two New Jersey massage parlors.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom

[carbongallery id=f"6a024ce3b421753b22320abb"]