Thornton Liquor Store Owner Guilty Of Tax Evasion Scheme
DENVER (CBS4) - The owner of a Thornton liquor store has pleaded guilty to violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.
Lynn Kimbrough with the district attorney's office said Hani D. Sawaged, 59, the owner of Daveco Liquors, was accused of running a scheme to underpay sales tax to the city of Thornton and the state of Colorado.
"In exchange for his guilty plea to the most serious charge, other counts of theft, computer crime and tax evasion were dismissed," Kimbrough said in a statement.
Hani Sawaged faces probation and will have to pay back $1.3 million. He will be sentenced on Jan. 4.
"Hani Sawaged's two brothers pleaded guilty earlier this year in connection with the case," Kimbrough said.
Ghassan D. Sawaged, 57, and Bassam D. Sawaged, 48, pleaded guilty to theft and failure to file a tax return and are both serving a one-year deferred judgment sentence. They were ordered to jointly pay $200,000 in restitution for their role in the scheme.
An investigation revealed that from at least January 2007 through August 2008, "Sawaged and his brothers logged fictitious merchandise returns and took $5.4 million in cash from Daveco Liquors."
