Delco Man Pleads To Tax Fraud After Lying To Accountant, IRS

DREXEL HILL, PA — A Delawre County man who owned and operated a Philadelphia pizza shop pleaded guilty to tax evasion after authorities said he avoided paying taxes on this money by providing his accountant with incomplete information about the restaurant’s income and expenses.

Cihan Calkap, 42, of Drexel Hill, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday.

According to federal authorities, Calkap owned and operated Mimmo’s Pizza and Kitchen, a Philadelphia restaurant.

Between 2015 and 2019, Mimmo’s earned significant total income and employed about 25 people, authorities said. Rather than depositing all the receipts into business bank accounts, Calkap took cash from the business, according to authorities. He then used that cash to pay himself and to operate an "off the books" payroll for most of his employees, prosecutors said.

Calkap avoided paying taxes on this money by giving his accountant incomplete information about the restaurant’s income and expenses, according to authorities. His tax return preparer was only given access to Mimmo’s bank records, knowing those records did not include the entirety of Mimmo’s cash income, prosecutors said. This caused the accountant to prepare false corporate and personal income tax returns on behalf of Mimmo’s and Calkap that were filed with the IRS. From 2015 to 2018, Calkap underreported Mimmo’s total receipts.

Calkap also told his return preparer that Mimmo’s only had four employees, including himself. In reality it had approximately 25 employees. As a result, Calkap minimized the employment taxes he collected and paid over to the IRS on behalf of Mimmo’s.

Calkap is scheduled to be sentenced on May 14 and faces a maximum possible term of five years in prison.