Fraud Friday: Philadelphia cheesesteak


In 2020, the 82-year-old owner of a South Philadelphia cheesesteak shop and his son were indicted on tax fraud charges for failing to report more than $8 million between 2006 and 2016. However, there’s so much material to discover in their complex tax case that a Pennsylvania federal court continued discovery until May 2022. The father-son duo are accused of paying wages partially in cash to avoid payroll taxes and filing numerous false returns understating their business income. During a franchising rights dispute, the pair worried their tax fraud scheme would come to light, so they amended several returns to increase reported sales, but then claimed additional fraudulent expenses to offset the income. If they’re convicted, they face five years in prison for conspiracy and for each count of tax evasion, and three years in prison for each false return charge. (https://6abc.com/tony-lukes-tax-fraud-evasion-anthony-lucidonio-sr-nicholas/6332901/)

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