Former owner of Giovanni’s Roast Beef & Pizza in Saugus pleads guilty to tax fraud

The 70-year-old former owner of a roast beef and pizza shop in Saugus has pleaded guilty to tax fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Massachusetts.Steve Konis, the former owner of Giovanni’s Roast Beef & Pizza, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of aiding and assisting in filing false corporate tax returns. Federal prosecutors said that from 2012 through 2016, Konis, the sole owner of the restaurant, underreported his businesses’s receipts in order to reduce the federal income taxes. Between 2012 and 2015 he avoided paying $178,169 in corporate and personal taxes, according to authorities.“Konis accomplished this by diverting some of the restaurant’s cash receipts for his own benefit, paying for some supplies with cash, and paying a portion of his employees’ wages in cash,” officials said in a statement. “In addition, Konis failed to report all of Giovanni’s business expenses in order to make the false gross receipts he reported appear more realistic.”In total, the 70-year-old failed to report on cash receipts of about $800,000 and cash expenses of $312,000, according to authorities.Konis is due back in court for sentencing on Oct. 24. He is facing no more than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, officials said.