Owner of Two Restaurants to Plead Guilty to Employment Tax Scheme

BOSTON – The owner and operator of two Massachusetts restaurants has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to paying employees in cash over the course of seven years without withholding and paying federal employment taxes. Marios Michalakis, 44, of Westwood, Mass., was charged with six counts of failing to collect, report and pay over employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A plea hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 8, 2026. According to court documents, from at least January 2016 through December 2022, Michalakis ran two restaurants, Amelia’s, located in Stoughton, Mass. and Sofia Italian Steakhouse, located in West Roxbury, Mass. Michalakis is charged with paying employees in cash “under-the-table,” that is, failing to withhold income taxes and Social Security and Medicare taxes from employee wages and failing to pay more than $580,000 in employee and employer taxes owed to the IRS and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The charge of failing to collect and pay over taxes provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, and restitution. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Victor A. Wild of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Frauds Unit is prosecuting the case. The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.