FROM THE BENCH – IN THE NEWS:

Joseph Schwartz, whose Skyline Healthcare nursing home chain was the subject of an NBC News investigation, pleaded guilty to failing to pay the IRS employment taxes withheld from his employees and failing to file annual financial reports with the federal Labor Department.

If the court accepts his plea agreement, he will be sentenced to a year in prison and three years’ supervised release, with a requirement to pay $5 million in restitution. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May.

At one time, Schwartz oversaw the care of more than 7,000 older Americans through his company, Skyline Healthcare, which at its peak owned or ran more than 100 facilities in 11 states. With a handful of staff members, Schwartz managed them from a tiny office over a New Jersey pizzeria.

The indictment that was sought by the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger, charges that Schwartz failed to pay employment and unemployment taxes for the 15,000 employees he had at 95 facilities across 11 states.

“Joseph Schwartz admitted to defrauding the United States by failing to pay the IRS more than $38 million in payroll taxes,” New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. “Schwartz broke the law when he willfully withheld trust fund taxes from his employees but pocketed the money he had withheld rather than turning it over to the government; he will now be held accountable for his criminal tax violations.”