Restaurateur Sentenced to Probation for Tax Fraud

A Bethel Park man has been sentenced in federal court three years probation on his conviction of committing tax fraud.

Chief United States District Judge Gary L. Lancaster imposed the sentence on Thomas N. Liadis, Sr., 61, of the Dorchester Towers apartment complex in Bethel Park.

According to a news release provided by U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton, Liadis was the owner of the Grecian Isles local chain of Greek restaurants in the Pittsburgh area, with locations at the PPG building, USX Tower and Station Square.

In 2010, Liadis was targeted in a proactive IRS investigation into restaurant owners that were not reporting their gross receipts accurately to the IRS. At that time, Liadis had listed his restaurants for sale and in order to sell his restaurants, was disclosing each restaurant's total revenue. As part of the undercover investigation, these figures were compared with the numbers disclosed in Liadis's IRS 1040 tax returns, and discovered to be significantly higher.

During the undercover operation, Liadis provided records to an IRS agent posing as a prospective buyer that supported the higher figures that were reported as part of the sale of the business, and not the numbers reported on Liadis' prepared tax returns. Liadis further admitted to the IRS undercover agent that he under-reported income to the IRS.

A search warrant was executed at Liadis' businesses and residence and records were seized. The records indicating the actual gross receipts for Liadis' businesses were recovered. Comparison of Liadis' business records with his IRS filings for the tax years 2007, 2008, and 2009 indicate that Liadis under-reported a total of $1,011,369 of receipts resulting in a tax loss of $103,706.

Specifically, on or about April 15, 2010, Liadis filed his United States Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040 for the 2009 tax year, which was verified by him in a written declaration that it was made under the penalties of perjury and filed with the Internal Revenue Service, that declared that the gross receipts of the Island Café at Station Square was $121,791 when in fact records obtained from Liadis indicated that his true gross receipts for Island Café in 2009 were $414,076.51.