Moberly restaurant owner sentenced for filing false tax returns

Two restaurant owners were sentenced for filing false tax returns for three years on Friday.

Department of Justice officials announced that Rafael Ramierz, 39, was sentenced to four years probation, six months of home confinement, $2,000 fine and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $30,936.

Oscar Flores, 34, was sentenced to four years probation, three months home confinement, $4,000 fine and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $8,745.

According to court documents, Ramirez and Flores managed two restaurants which were owned by La Pachanga Party, Inc. One of the restaurants, La Pachanga Mexican Restaurant, was in Kirksville. The other restaurant, Santa Fe Mexican Restaurant, was in Moberly.

Ramirez and Flores were accused of defrauding the IRS by causing La Pachanga Party, Inc. to not report a substantial portion of the cash receipts generated by these restaurants. The two directed employees at the restaurants to maintain two sets of ledger books.

One set of ledger books recorded only the minimal amount of the restaurants’ cash sales. The remaining cash generated by the restaurants was used to pay employees and was kept by Ramirez and Flores.

Ramirez pled guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and six counts of filing false tax returns.

Flores pled guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and three counts of filing false tax returns.