DURANGO, CO – Kenneth and Suzanne Fusco, former owners of the now-closed Ken & Sue’s restaurant in Durango, Colorado, are facing the consequences of a calculated scheme to cheat the U.S. government. Both were sentenced on February 7, 2023, to six months of house arrest, 150 hours of community service, a $25,000 fine, over $160,000 in restitution, and five years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion charges.
The couple, who ran Ken & Sue’s on Main Street for twenty-two years, began inflating business expenses in 2014, continuing through 2019. The scheme came to light when they attempted to sell the restaurant in February 2020, triggering an investigation that quickly revealed a pattern of fraudulent accounting. According to court documents, when confronted, Suzanne Fusco brazenly admitted, “we’re masters at…” before Kenneth Fusco finished the sentence with a chilling “disguising.” The pair then detailed how they routinely masked personal expenses as legitimate business costs to reduce their tax burden.
An August 26, 2020 search of the restaurant premises, authorized by a warrant, confirmed the IRS’s suspicions. Agents with the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) division uncovered nearly a million dollars in personal expenses falsely categorized as business deductions. This deliberate manipulation resulted in over $160,000 in unpaid taxes, a significant loss to American taxpayers.
Senior Judge Robert E. Blackburn handed down the sentence, aiming to hold the Fuscos accountable for their actions. “This sentence will justly restrict the defendants’ liberty for five years, require significant community service, and ensure full repayment to the American taxpayers,” stated United States Attorney Cole Finegan. “This serious crime would not have been detected and prosecuted but for the great work of our partners at the IRS-CI.”
Andy Tsui, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Denver Field Office, emphasized the importance of tax compliance. “The U.S. tax system is critical to funding vital government services for our citizens and we protect the integrity of our system by ensuring everyone pays their fair share,” Tsui said. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates our commitment to identifying and investigating business owners who attempt to evade their tax obligations and serves as an example that violators will not go unpunished.”
The case, numbered 22-cr-00311, was investigated by the IRS, Criminal Investigation Division, in Durango, Colorado. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey K. Graves and Nicole C. Cassidy were responsible for the prosecution. The closure of Ken & Sue’s, coupled with this conviction, serves as a stark reminder that financial crimes, no matter how cleverly concealed, will eventually be exposed.
RELATED: Durango Restaurateurs Cooked the Books, Get House Arrest
Related Federal Cases
- Durango Restaurateurs Cooked the Books, Get House Arrest · Colorado
- Four Co-Conspirators Charged in Nationwide Tax Shelter Scheme · Colorado
- Lakewood Tax Cheat Gets 21 Months · Colorado
- Sylvester Gets 3 Years for $447K Tax Refund Scam · Kansas
- Trading Firm Executives Guilty of $179M Wire Fraud Scheme · Colorado
Key Facts
- State: Colorado
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
