A Bethlehem man, who owns dozens of Domino's Pizza locations throughout Pa. and Ohio, was sentenced to serve a year in prison and must repay the IRS $2.5 million after he was convicted filing false tax returns.
According to the office of United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, the sentence for Ammar Jali, 56, of Bethlehem, comes after Jali pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns for himself and his businesses on Jan. 29.
“Owning your own business often requires taking some risks,” said Romero, in a statement. “But in underreporting his restaurants’ earnings by millions and millions of dollars, Mr. Jali went beyond risk-taking straight to law-breaking. In doing so, he was effectively thumbing his nose at both the IRS and all the honest filers who accurately report their income and pay what they owe.”
In a statement, Romero's office said that, for two years -- from 2014 to 2016 -- Jali underreported gross receipts for his business to the tune of about $10 million and caused his accountants to file false reports.
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Overall, Romero's office said, Jail caused over $2.5 million of tax loss to the federal government.
Romero's office said that Jali was the sole shareholder of 36 Domino’s Pizza restaurants located throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio.
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