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Tax Cheater Pays Price
Rochester, NY – Konstantinos Votsis, 63, a local restauranteur, has admitted to evading taxes on millions of dollars in income from his Gates restaurant, Rookies Neighborhood Sports Bar. Votsis pleaded guilty to tax evasion before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, who will sentence the defendant on September 4 at 3:30 p.m.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, Votsis learned of a pending audit of his sales taxes in 2009 and responded by deleting sales data from the restaurant’s point-of-sale computer system. The deleted data was later recovered by the Government, revealing that Votsis had failed to report $986,660 in income from 2006 through 2008.
By concealing this income, Votsis managed to avoid paying $308,062 in taxes that he owed to the Internal Revenue Service. The defendant has agreed to forfeit $250,000 to the United States as part of the plea agreement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen said, “Business owners are expected to report all of their gross receipts. When business owners hide receipts to evade paying all of the taxes they are legally required to, law-abiding businesses and taxpayers ultimately end up making up the difference. IRS-Criminal Investigation is committed to seeing that everyone pays their fair share.”
The plea is the culmination of an investigation by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge.
Votsis faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $616,124, or both. The defendant’s sentence will be handed down by Judge Geraci on September 4 at 3:30 p.m.
The case serves as a stark reminder that tax evasion will not be tolerated in our community. The people of Rochester deserve nothing but the highest level of integrity from their business leaders, and it is the duty of law enforcement to ensure that justice is served.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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