Mother, Father And Son Sentenced In Peabody Tax Evasion Case

PEABODY, MA -- The owners of Giovanni’s Roast Beef & Pizza in Peabody avoided jail time after pleading guilty last year to hiding $2.8 million from federal tax authorities.William Panousos, 67, Theodora Panousos, 65;, and their son, Konstantinos Panousos, 39, were sentenced in U.S. Federal Court in Boston Wednesday for evading nearly $550,000 in taxes by skimming cash receipts.

All three had plead guilty to the charges in November. The three will be required to stay in Peabody for the first 18 months of their three-year probation and each will pay a $150,000 fine. The three were also ordered to make restitution of $549,889 in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

Prosecutors say the three defendants skimmed about $2.8 million from the business between 2013 and 2015, which was never deposited in the business bank account or reported to their tax preparer. While $1.3 million went to pay salaries and other business expenses, the remaining $1.5 million was kept for personal use.

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Patch file photo by B.Stefanov/Shutterstock.com.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).