Other LanguagesSEATTLE – The corporation that operated El Mestizo Restaurant on First Hill was charged today with filing a false or fraudulent state tax return after failing to report sales tax it collected from customers but failed to remit to the state.
The corporation already has paid $23,509 to cover the unpaid sales tax, interest and penalties, and is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 27 in King County Superior Court. The maximum additional penalty a corporate defendant can face for filing a false return is $10,000 per instance.
The charges were brought against the corporation that operated the restaurant, Empresas Carrillo, LLC, by the Washington Attorney General’s Office at the request of the Department of Revenue.
According to charging papers, the corporation was formed by Jose Carrillo and his spouse Sarah Groome. They operated the restaurant at 526 Broadway Street in Seattle from January 2010 until it closed in October 2011.
The failure of the business to remit all the sales tax it collected from customers was detected through a Department audit. When asked about this, Carrillo admitted to using the tax to pay the Internal Revenue Service and restaurant employees.
--30 --
Contact:
Janelle Guthrie, AGO Communications Director, 360-586-0725
Mike Gowrylow , DOR Communications Director, 360-534-1610