A Walled Lake, Michigan, businessperson, who owned a restaurant and an adult entertainment facility, pleaded guilty today to willful failure to pay over employment taxes and failure to file an individual income tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to the indictment and the plea agreement, Johni Semma owned Bayside Sports Bar & Grill (Bayside), a restaurant, and “The Coliseum,” an adult entertainment business. As the owner of Bayside, Semma was responsible for collecting and paying over Bayside’s employment taxes. From the first quarter of 2008 through the first quarter of 2015, Semma caused the restaurant to withhold payroll taxes from employees’ paychecks, but filed only two of the 29 Forms 941 required for those quarters and failed to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) approximately $1.3 million in employment taxes. Although Semma sold “The Coliseum” in 2012 for more than $6 million, he did not pay the delinquent payroll taxes. Semma also did not file a 2012 individual income tax return, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $463,000.
United States District Court Judge Paul D. Borman scheduled Semma’s sentencing for Jan. 30, 2020. Semma faces up to six years in prison, as well as a term of supervised release and monetary penalties. Semma also agreed to pay almost $1.8 million in restitution to the IRS.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Kenneth Vert and Brittney Campbell, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.
Source: Department of Justice. This site is made available by CHINA NEWS – Professional Chinese Press Release Distribution service, Great China and Asia PR service provider. 【专业中文新闻稿发布，大中华地区及亚洲网络公关服务商】。