Restaurant Manager From Watertown Charged With Tax Fraud

WATERTOWN, MA – A Watertown man and manager of two Boston-area restaurants was charged in federal court this week with tax fraud, according to the IRS. Burhan Ud Din, 48, was indicted on one count of conspiring to defraud the IRS and 12 counts of failing to withhold and pay employee taxes.

Two of Din's alleged co-conspirators, Hazrat Khan and Khurshed Iqbal, both Pakistani nationals, were charged in April in an 18-count superseding indictment with conspiracy and willful failure to pay over taxes.

Din, Khan and Iqbal are accused of defrauding the government by skirting payroll and income taxes owed by Crown Fried Chicken in Chelsea and Kennedy Fried Chicken in Boston. The indictment alleges the three men willfully concealed Khan's ownership interests in one of the stores and Din provided the tax preparer for both stores with false information about the restaurants' payroll and income, resulting in the filing of false returns.

Under federal law, employers must withhold payroll taxes and pay them to the IRS. The men are alleged to have falsely reported the number of employees – some of whom were undocumented – and wages paid. They are also accused of paying employees under the table and filing false income tax returns for both stores.

Khan pleaded guilty to fraud charges and will be sentenced later this year. Iqbal's whereabouts are unknown.

A manager of two Boston-area restaurants was charged today in federal court in Boston with tax fraud.

Image via Shutterstock