There’s nothing extra Philly than a cheesesteak, however the homeowners of 1 fashionable store are actually well-known for one thing apart from the meals.
Nicholas Lucidonio, 57, and Anthony Lucidonio Sr., 84, the homeowners of Tony Luke’s, a beloved cheesesteak chain in enterprise since 1992, had been every sentenced to twenty months in jail and three years of supervised launch for a “decade-long conspiracy to defraud the IRS,” in accordance with a authorities press launch.
There are at present 17 eating places working underneath the Tony Luke’s model and franchise title. The unique is situated at Entrance Road and Oregon Avenue in South Philadelphia.
Courtroom paperwork say that the Lucidonios hid greater than $8 million in money receipts between 2006 and 2016 and purposely withheld money receipts, which led to their accountant submitting falsified tax returns with out his information.
Associated: IRS Makes use of AI to Battle Tax Evasion, Millionaires Dodging Taxes
The daddy and son duo had been additionally accused of not documenting some worker funds and paying staff partially in money however persevering with to pay most of their earnings on payroll. These money funds had been additionally not reported to their accountant, which led to falsified and incorrect worker tax return varieties.
“For a decade, these profitable restaurateurs boldly cooked the books, dishonest the federal government and trustworthy taxpayers alike,” stated U.S. Lawyer Jacqueline Romero, per native outlet, NBC 10. “As this investigation and prosecution present, tax fraud is against the law with some fairly excessive stakes, with violators held absolutely accountable.”
The tax fraud scheme was initially uncovered in 2015.
“When a dispute over Tony Luke’s franchising rights arose between the Lucidonios and one other particular person in 2015, the Lucidonios turned involved that their tax fraud scheme can be revealed, so that they directed that the prior yr’s tax returns be amended to extend reported gross sales,” the U.S. Division of Justice defined in a assertion. “The Lucidonios continued to cover their ongoing payroll tax scheme.”
The scheme has price the U.S. authorities an estimated $1,321,042.
Associated: Father-Son Duo to Serve Time for $20 Million Lottery Scheme
