NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — The owner of a Hartford-area used-car lot has been charged with multiple felony counts after tax enforcement agents say he diverted $129,000 worth of state sales tax revenue and filed false returns to hide the crime.

Michael J. Molnar, owner of Town and Country Auto Center in New Britain, Conn., surrendered to New Britain police after learning the state’s Department of Revenue Services (DRS) filed a warrant for his arrest in the Hartford Superior Court. Molnar was charged with larceny in the first degree and multiple counts of filing false sales tax returns. He was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and will appear in court again next month. 

“Customers who pay the sales tax to businesses believe that money will be paid to the state of Connecticut,” said DRS Commissioner Kevin B. Sullivan. “Businesses that keep the money are stealing from the state, violating the trust of their customers, and do a disservice to the majority of business owners who are law-abiding taxpayers.”

If convicted, Molnar faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $20,000 or both for first degree larceny, as well as up to five years and $5,000 in fines for each count of filing a false return.