By John Morton
A pair of local restaurant owners have been convicted of failing to pay business-related taxes to the IRS at least as far back as 2013, according to a July 10 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Middle District of Florida located in Tampa.
Karl Knocker and Madeline Nikolson, co-owners of the Boatyard Waterfront Bar & Grill at 1500 Stickney Point Rd., removed records of cash sales from point-of-sale registers totaling more than $725,000, resulting in more than $100,000 in taxes due, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported. Both provided falsified information with tax-form preparers who handled both their corporate and personal filings in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Only credit-card sales were properly recorded at the business, according to the release
An email to the business requesting comment from Knocker and Nikolson was not answered.
Knocker faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison, and a sentencing date has not yet been set. He entered a guilty plea on three counts related to defrauding the government in early July.
Nikolson, who faces a maximum penalty of five years, has an Aug. 1 sentencing date. She entered a guilty plea on a single count related to defrauding the government in May.
This case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay Hoffer.
Author: John Morton