Liquor store owners indicted in tax evasion scheme
The owners of several Super Liquor stores have been indicted by a federal grand jury in a tax evasion scheme authorities say hid $4 million in gross receipts from the Internal Revenue Service.
Jeffrey Nowak and Ramzi Suliman were charged in a 12-count indictment, returned late Wednesday, with conspiracy to defraud the United States, assisting in filing false corporate returns and tax evasion.
The indictment alleges the business partners skimmed the $4 million during the tax years 2006 through 2009 at their flagship Super Liquor South Strip store at 3999 Las Vegas Blvd. South near Mandalay Bay. The owners have two other stores, including another one on the Strip at 2301 Las Vegas Blvd. South.
The objective of the scheme, according to the indictment, was to “divert corporate receipts to their own use and evade federal income taxes by presenting false books and records to their corporate accountant.”
Nowak and Suliman maintained three separate sets of books: one with their true gross sales, one with the skimmed version of those sales that went to the accountant and one that compared the true and skimmed versions, the indictment alleges.
“Defendant Nowak was primarily responsible for keeping the true records and the altered records,” the indictment alleges. “Defendant Suliman was aware of and consented to the skim, and occasionally made entries in the records.”
Both men also are accused of providing false information about the income they received from store sales to the accountants who prepared their individual tax returns.
“The defendants filed the false returns with the IRS knowing they contained misrepresentations about their income from the south-Strip store,” the indictment states.
IRS agents estimate Nowak owes the government $569,013 in back taxes from 2006 through 2009, and Suliman owes $606,169, according to the indictment.
Both defendants are being summoned to court April 18 for arraignment on the charges.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation in Las Vegas.
Contact reporter Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.
