The owner of popular Philadelphia Cheesesteak restaurant Tony Luke was sentenced to prison for tax fraud on Thursday after hiding more than $8 million over a decade.
The US Department of Justice announced the owners, 57-year-old Nicholas Lucidonio and Anthony Lucidonio Sr. the 84-year-old were each sentenced to 20 months in prison plus three years of supervised release.
The Lucidonios own and operate Tony Lukes, a popular cheesesteak and sandwich shop in South Philadelphia.
Between 2006 and 2016, court documents show, the two men hid more than $8 million in cash receipts from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and deposited only a portion of the cash they received into restaurant business accounts.
By only depositing part of the cash, the DOJ said, the company’s accountant was given incomplete information, causing the accountant to file false tax returns.
Nicholas Lucidonio (left) and Anthony Lucidonio Sr. (right) hid more than $8 million in cash receipts from the Internal Revenue Service. Nick Luke Lucidonio / Facebook Two owners of Tony Luke’s in South Philadelphia have been sentenced to 20 months in prison for a tax fraud scheme in which they hid $8 million from 2006-2016. FOX 29 Philadelphia / Fox News
The DOJ also said Lucidonios was also convicted of employment tax fraud, which was committed when the two men paid employees “off the books” in cash.
Most workers are paid a portion of their wages on the books to avoid getting caught, and the rest of their wages are paid in cash without things like federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes being paid to the IRS.
The Lucidonios did not report cash wages to their accountant, the DOJ said, causing the accountant to prepare false quarterly employment tax returns with the IRS.
Nicholas Lucidonio and Anthony Lucidonio were also convicted of employment tax fraud, which was committed when the two men paid “off the books” workers in cash. Nick Luke Lucidonio / Facebook
The issue came to light in 2015, when Lucidonios and other individuals were involved in a dispute over Tony Luke’s franchise rights.
During the dispute, the Lucidonios became concerned that their tax fraud scheme would be exposed, so they requested that the previous year’s tax returns be amended to show higher reported sales, the DOJ said.
However, the two men continued to hide their payroll tax scheme, which resulted in a loss of $1,321,042 to the US.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
