Former Owner of Giovanni’s Roast Beef & Pizza Sentenced for Tax Fraud

BOSTON – The former owner of Giovanni’s Roast Beef & Pizza in Saugus was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for failing to report $800,000 in corporate and personal income to the IRS.    

Steve Konis, 70, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to three months in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 and restitution of $178,196. In July 2019, Konis pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in filing false corporate tax returns.

Konis was the sole owner of Giovanni’s Roast Beef & Pizza in Saugus. From 2012 through October 2016, Konis underreported the gross receipts of Giovanni’s in order to reduce the federal income taxes owed by Konis and Giovanni’s. 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. 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. As a result, Konis failed to report on cash receipts totaling approximately $800,000 and cash expenses of $312,000 on Giovanni’s tax returns. As a result, for tax years 2012 through 2015, Konis avoided paying corporate and personal taxes totaling $178,169.   

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.