New York, February 10, 2026—Able Rentals Inc., Abarn Equipment Corp., and company owners Myron Schulman and Martin Schulman have agreed to pay over $3.9 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the New York False Claims Act alleging that the entities failed to pay income/franchise taxes and withholding taxes for employees.
Abarn, known commercially as “Barn Rentals,” leases and sells trucks, moving supplies, trailers, and hitches. The lawsuit was originally filed by Robert Sadowski on behalf of the whistleblower, a former employee. Phillips & Cohen took over representation after Mr. Sadowski’s passing.
The New York False Claims Act allows entities to file a lawsuit on the state’s behalf for fraud or false claims made against the state. The lawsuit alleges Able Rentals Inc., Abarn Equipment Corp., and the company’s owners defrauded New York State and New York City by failing to report payments received for the sale and rental of trucks and equipment on tax returns.
The lawsuit alleges the fraud started in 2014 and continued for a decade, resulting in Abarn and Able having failed to report taxable sales of $15,008,715.98. As a result, Abarn and Able allegedly falsely understated sales tax due by $1,332,023.54 and did not remit that amount of sales tax to New York.
“Deceiving the state of taxes owed defrauds the government and legitimate taxpayers alike,” said Emily Stabile, whistleblower attorney and partner at Phillips & Cohen. “We are proud to have represented the whistleblower who brought this fraud to light.”
“This settlement recognizes the important role whistleblowers play in recovering monies lost to tax fraud,” said Stabile. “New York’s False Claims Act serves as a powerful and effective tool to fight tax evasion.”
Phillips & Cohen represents whistleblowers in claims before state and federal whistleblower programs, including the IRS, the SEC, and the CFTC whistleblower programs. Phillips & Cohen’s roster includes the founding Chief of the SEC Office of the Whistleblower, the former Director of the CFTC Whistleblower Office, the attorney with the most awards under the Dodd-Frank Act, and former government prosecutors and attorneys with decades of experience representing whistleblowers.