Bedford Restaurant Owner, Windham Tax Preparer Indicted

CONCORD, NH — A Queen City restaurant owner and his tax preparer have been indicted on charges after allegedly keeping – and attempting to keep – more than $200,000 in various taxes from the state of New Hampshire, according to the attorney general’s office. Stylianos Asprogiannis, 47, of Bedford, was incited recently in Hillsborough County on four counts of tax evasion, two counts of theft, and single counts of conspiracy to commit tax evasion and falsifying physical evidence. Maria Panourgias, 61, of Windham, was also indicted on a single conspiracy count. Asprogiannis, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, owns Zoey’s Pizza in Manchester and between September 2011, and June 2016, allegedly failed to pay more than $102,000 in monthly meals and rental taxes to the state.

Editor’s Note: This post was derived from information supplied by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

He is also is alleged to have evaded about $100,000 in business profits tax during a recent New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration audit of the restaurant.

Patrick Queenan, an assistant attorney general, stated that Panourgias was Asprogiannis’ tax preparer and she allegedly attempted to defraud the DRA.

The theft charges against Asprogiannis are Class A felonies and punishable by up to 7.5 to 15 years in state prison. All other felony offenses charged against Asprogiannis and Panourgias constitute Class B felonies punishable by up to 3.5 to 7 years, Queenan noted.

The DRA and the NHAG are continuing to investigate revenue suppression related to the state’s tax programs, according to Queenan, and anyone with information related to revenue suppression or tax fraud can submit information online at revenue.nh.gov/how-do-i/report-tax-fraud.htm or send an e-mail to TaxFraudHotline@dra.nh.gov, or call the Tax Fraud Hotline at 603-230-5030.

The charges against Asprogiannis came to light earlier this year after state and federal investigators search two restaurants as well as the home of Tom Katsiatonis, a Democrat and ward alderman in Manchester. Zoey’s was also search during the multi-month investigation, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

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