The former owners of a restaurant in Paterson today admitted failing to pay over $240,000 in taxes by concealing income from their cash-only business.
Officials said Elio Federico, 71, of Totowa, and his brother, Ralph Federico, 68, of Saddle Brook, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to one count of tax evasion.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Elio and Ralph Federico co-owned an Italian restaurant in Paterson that had been in business since 1967. The brothers operated the restaurant on a cash-only basis, paid a substantial portion of the employee payroll in cash, and paid virtually all of their suppliers in cash.
Officials said Elio and Ralph Federico admitted that they concealed a portion of their income from the IRS by among other things, skimming cash from the restaurant’s gross receipts, which they did not report as income.
The pair admitted reprogramming the cash register so it would not maintain a total receipt balance for more than a few days and deliberately failing to provide the restaurant’s accountant with invoices that reflected the actual cost of goods sold and the actual amount of gross income that the business generated.
In addition, Elio and Ralph Federico admitted that they failed to pay the necessary income and employment taxes that they owed from 2011 through 2014, resulting in a tax loss to the United States of $241,219.
The tax evasion charge to which they pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 4th.