Guess who made state tax scofflaw list?

A Nassau businesswoman tops this month's state list of the 250 biggest tax dodgers, with a $21.8-million debt dating back to 1999.

Ashley Jarwood was co-owner of motor fuel distributor Wizard Corp. in New York City when a state audit found sales tax fraud in the company's books, said the state Department of Taxation and Finance. Her big debt stems from the sales tax owed, interest and fraud penalties, but Ashley also hasn't paid about $1,817 in income taxes, according to the March list.

No. 10, with a $6-million sales tax bill, is another Nassau resident, Dennis Schwartz of Smithtown Chevrolet and Jamaica Buick.

Jarwood, of Oyster Bay, could not be reached for comment and her business appears to be defunct.

Schwartz disputed the listing and said all the taxes have been paid for Smithtown Chevrolet, where he was a partner when it closed three years ago. He said he's not responsible for Jamaica Buick's sales tax payments because he was only an investor and consultant there when it also closed about three years ago.

The list, which can be seen at newsday.com/taxdebt, contains more than 80 Long Islanders, and many owe millions of dollars in sales taxes, with a noticeable number in the car dealership world.

Imprisoned Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff also made the statewide list with a $1.6-million tab, or $620,690.31 in income tax and $984,280.86 in sales tax from his securities firm.

Tax officials began putting the top 250 list on the department website in April and refresh it monthly. It covers those who have had at least one tax lien filed against them in the past 12 months, so it's possible that bigger tax dodgers are missing. People whose cases are under review, who filed for bankruptcy or who have arranged payment plans are not on the list.

Since the names have been posted, about $24.6 million in back taxes have been collected, via wage garnishment, asset seizures and other enforcement actions, the department said.