HOBOKEN – The former chief executive officer of First Priority Pay, a payroll company based in Hoboken, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of attempting to evade taxes, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Jerry Carter Jr., 32, of Hillsborough, admitted to trying to evade almost $500,000 in tax payments, according to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman. Carter admitted, according to the release, that from 2007-2009, “He intentionally failed to provide the Internal Revenue Service with true, correct, and complete information” regarding income that he received in connection with his position.

This is not the first time Carter has been in the news. In a bizarre case reported here and in other media, Carter was arrested by Hoboken Police in 2009 facing allegations of kidnapping and harassment of a female employee, but the charges were dropped by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in 2010 after a legal review led to an administrative dismissal of the case. (See prior stories linked below.)

Carter had been praised as a self-made millionaire after he left a top payroll firm to start his own company in Hoboken. New Jersey Business Magazine named him one of their top “Movers and Shakers” in the state two years ago.

Carter faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 27, 2012. Carter has agreed to make full restitution to the IRS, plus interest and penalties to be determined, according to the release. -- Ray Smith