Owner Of Popular Hamden Deli Sentenced For Tax Evasion

HAMDEN, CT — The owner of a popular deli in Hamden has been sentenced to nine months in prison for tax evasion, U.S. States Attorney for Connecticut John H. Durham announced Tuesday. Raymond George, 53, of Hamden, was also sentenced to one year of supervised release following the prison term and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

George owns and operates Ray & Mike's Deli, located at 3030 Whitney Avenue in Hamden. Authorities say George evaded paying his federal income taxes for the 2012 and 2013 tax years in multiple ways.

“First, George failed to deposit all of the cash receipts of the business into his business bank account,” officials wrote in a news release. “He used a portion of the cash to fill an in-store ATM and failed to report the cash as income.

“In addition, George used the Ray & Mike business account to pay personal expenses. He also deposited three large checks totaling nearly $300,000 from the Ray & Mike’s business account into his personal investment account, without reporting the funds as income in any capacity, and then withdrew funds from the investment account to purchase personal investment properties. He also deposited a $25,800 check from the Ray & Mike’s lottery account into his personal investment account without reporting the funds as income.”

Authorities also say George under-reported his income on his federal tax returns by approximately $365,065 for the 2012 tax year and by $273,108 for the 2013 tax year, and failed to pay a total of approximately $220,000 in taxes for those two years.

George has paid the IRS approximately $480,000 in back taxes, interest and penalties. He pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion in May.

George, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on March 17, 2020, officials said.