Restaurant customers love to peruse menus for tasty meals that will satisfy their hankerings. (Whether a blue plate special or a gourmet dish, they expect to have a tasty experience no matter how much they pay.) Customers understand that there are additional costs associated with the meal that include a tip for the waiter or waitress and taxes; however, patrons eating at one Illinois restaurant didn’t expect to indirectly contribute to a scheme that defrauded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). (That would definitely leave a bad taste in your mouth.)
An article published by KMOV.com details how two brothers, who owned and operated a restaurant together, altered information in their cash register system so they could pay less in taxes to the federal government. For nearly five years, the brothers lowered their reported cash sales, then removed that amount of cash from their register before depositing the money in their business bank account and compiling gross receipt reports. (It’s as if the money was never there.)This illegal act allowed the brotherly owners to lowball their restaurant’s income on their business federal tax return, decreasing the amount of tax owed to the IRS.
The 50- and 52-year-old brothers both pleaded guilty to federal tax obstruction. They were each sentenced to four years of probation for their illegal acts.They and their business paid restitution of $219,183.23 prior to their sentencing. (Perhaps the brothers were able to avoid prison time because they paid the IRS back. Wouldn’t it have been simpler to just pay the IRS in the first place?) The two defendants will also pay other penalties plus interest to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Although these two business owners were serving up fraud in their restaurant, the government was quick to clear the table before they could finish their meal. Let’s hope this experience doesn’t leave these businessmen hungry for more fraud.
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