Area Restaurant Owner Bilks Internal Revenue Service Out Of $480,474

by Patricia A. Miller

The owner of two New Jersey restaurants - Nick’s Horizon Diner Corporation in Manahawkin and Mariner’s Cove in Brielle, pleaded guilty today to income tax evasion, said Internal Revenue spokesman Special Agent Robert Glantz.

Nikolaos Psaros, 55, Palisades Park entered his plea in Trenton federal court before U. S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp. Psaros pleaded guilty to one count of personal tax evasion pertaining to his 2010 tax return. He is slated to be sentenced on Sept. 1.

Psaros was the sole owner of Horizon Diner and ninety-nine percent owner of Mariner’s Cove. His wife owned the other one percent of Mariner's Cover.

Authorities say that in 2010 Psaros failed to deposit all of the revenue generated from Horizon Diner and Mariner's Cove into the business and payroll bank accounts. Instead, he diverted substantial amounts of the revenue into his own personal bank account. Psaros also used the gross cash receipts from Horizon Diner and Mariner's Cove to fund a cash payroll and other expenses.

Psaros hired an accountant to prepare his 2010 joint federal income tax return. Psaros only reported as income to the money he deposited into the business and payroll accounts. He did not tell the accountant about the money he diverted into his own personal account or the money he diverted to fund cash payrolls for both businesses, as well as other expenses, Glantz said.

Psaros also failed to report all of the income he earned in 2009 on his personal income tax return. Psaros also failed to pay over payroll taxes and failed to file true and accurate Forms 941 for Mariner's Cove and Horizon Diner for the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012, Glantz said.

Psaros’s conduct will be taken into account for sentencing purposes by the court relating to his failure to report all of the income he received in 2009 as well as 2010. The court will also take into account the payroll taxes he failed to pay over for the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012.

In total, the tax loss to the government is approximately $480,474.91, Glantz said.

The count of tax evasion carries a statutory maximum prison sentence of five years and a statutory maximum fine equal to the greatest of: $250,000; twice the gross amount of any pecuniary gain derived from the offense; or twice the gross amount of any pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense.

The investigation was conducted by the IRS-Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen and The U.S. Attorney’s Office.