Feds have beef over taxes with Beverly restaurant owners

A federal grand jury has indicted the owners of Nick's Famous Roast Beef on charges they evaded taxes on $6 million in sales over a six-year period, the US Attorney's office in Boston reports.

Nicholas Koudanis, 65, of Topsfield, Nicholas Markos, 69, of Lynn, and Eleni Koudanis, 60, were charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing the IRS and 10 counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns, the US Attorney's office in Boston reports, adding that Steven Koudanis, 39, the son of Nicholas and Eleni Koudanis, was charged with one count of endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

The feds charge the owners took advantage of the fact the restaurant only accepts cash payments:

From 2008 to 2013, Nicholas Koudanis and Markos allegedly skimmed more than $1 million in cash receipts each year which they failed to report on either the corporate tax returns or their personal tax returns, thereby avoiding the payment of nearly $1 million each in personal income taxes during that period. According to the indictment, the two personally split up the cash receipts every week, determining how much to deposit into the business’s bank account and report on their tax returns, how much to use to pay suppliers and employees, and how much to keep for themselves. The indictment alleges that Eleni Koudanis had primary responsibility for the book-keeping functions of the business, and also recruited employees, including her son Steven Koudanis, to create false cash register receipts to use in connection with an IRS tax audit of Nick’s Famous Roast Beef. The true cash register receipts were allegedly destroyed and not provided to the tax preparer who prepared the business and personal tax returns.

Also:

According to the indictment, Nicholas and Eleni Koudanis also amassed more than $1.6 million in cash as of December 2014, which they kept in a safe in their home.

Innocent, etc.