Emanuel Panousos, a/k/a Mike Panousos, 43, of Peabody, is facing federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of false corporate tax returns. The owner of Mike’s Famous Roast Beef & Pizza in North Reading admitted to skimming approximately $1.9 million in unreported cash receipts from his restaurant between 2013 and 2015.
Panousos, who operated the eatery as a sole proprietorship, deliberately kept the bulk of his cash income off the books. He failed to disclose the full extent of his earnings to his tax preparer and never included the missing revenue on the business’s corporate tax returns. The scheme allowed him to dodge roughly $387,180 in combined corporate and personal tax obligations.
The IRS doesn’t take kindly to cash skimming, especially when it crosses into the millions. Federal prosecutors say Panousos structured his operations to conceal the true financial picture of his North Reading establishment. By omitting nearly $2 million in actual receipts, he distorted his business’s profitability and slashed his tax burden—illegally.
U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock has set sentencing for August 15, 2019. Under federal law, each count of aiding and assisting in filing a false tax return carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000—or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
The case was announced by United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard, part of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit, underscoring the seriousness with which the DOJ treats financial deception.
Panousos now waits for judgment in a courtroom, not a dining room. His roast beef may have been famous, but his name is now tied to a textbook case of small-business tax fraud—one that’s about to cost him far more than any tax bill.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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