CAMDEN – Guiseppe Cannuscio, 74, of Linwood, pleaded guilty to failing to pay the IRS approximately $208,448 in taxes, following an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation Newark Field Office Special Agents of an Ocean City pizza shop he used to co-own..
Cannuscio pleaded July 13 before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams to an Information charging him with a single count of conspiracy to evade taxes. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 16.
“Mr. Cannuscio intentionally filed fraudulent tax documents to conceal income. Today’s guilty plea is the result of hardworking IRS-CI Special Agents protecting the tax system to ensure everyone pays their fair share of taxes, including business owners,” said Tammy Tomlins, acting special agent in charge IRS Criminal Investigation Newark Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate, prosecute, and protect the integrity of the United States tax code.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:Between October 2013 and September 2018, Guiseppe Cannuscio and his brother Ernesto were each 50 percent owners and operators of Mario’s Pizza in Ocean City. Mario’s Pizza accepted cash and credit card payments for service at the restaurant. Cannuscio failed to deposit significant amounts of the cash receipts into the Mario’s Pizza’s corporate bank account. Cannuscio used a portion of the cash receipts to pay employees cash wages off the books. Cannuscio provided the accountant with the business bank account statements, knowing they did not contain the unreported cash receipts. Cannuscio did not tell his accountant about the cash receipts, nor did he tell the accountant about the cash payroll to Mario’s Pizza’s employees.
Failing to tell the accountant about the unreported cash receipts caused the accountant to underreport the gross receipts on the corporate tax returns as well as properly reporting the business income on his personal tax returns. In addition, Cannuscio evaded employment taxes by not informing the accountant about the cash wages paid to employees. As a result of this course of conduct, Guiseppe Cannuscio admitted he and his brother Ernesto failed to pay approximately $208,448 in personal, corporate and payroll taxes due and owing to the IRS for 2015 through 2018.
The conspiracy to evade taxes to which Guiseppe Cannuscio pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and total potential fine of $250,000.
The investigation was conducted by Special Agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division in Camden.