SALEM — The former owner of Red’s Sandwich Shop in Salem has pleaded guilty to tax fraud after failing to pay more than $1.5 million in state meals taxes and causing employment tax losses of more than $400,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
John Drivas, 66, who lives in Hampton, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in federal court on Sept. 6 to five counts of failure to collect and pay employment taxes owed to the IRS and four counts of wire fraud for state meals taxes he collected from restaurant customers but failed to pay over to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
The offenses took place over a six-year period between January 2016 and October 2022 at Red’s Sandwich Shop and two other restaurants owned and operated by Drivas — Red’s Kitchen and Tavern in Peabody and Red’s Seabrook in Seabrook, New Hampshire.
Drivas was the sole shareholder of the Salem restaurant until he sold it to an employee in September 2022. He was the 100% owner of the Peabody restaurant with his wife, and the 52% owner of the Seabrook restaurant with his children.
U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick scheduled sentencing for Dec. 5. The charge of failure to pay taxes carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss and restitution. Each wire fraud charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Drivas collected more than $1.5 million in state meals taxes paid by restaurant customers that he failed to pay over to the state as required by law. In Massachusetts, all owners and operators of restaurants and bars are required to collect 6.25% sales taxes on meals. Salem and Peabody also require restaurants and bar to collect an additional 0.75% local option meals excise tax.
Although Drivas collected the taxes from customers, he intentionally withheld $1,596,775 of those taxes from monthly reports and payments owed to the state Department of Revenue.
Drivas also paid wages to numerous employees of the restaurants partly by payroll checks and partly in cash. He did not report the cash wages to the IRS or pay employment taxes on them, causing employment tax losses of $439,341. Federal tax law requires employers to withhold from any employee wages an amount for income taxes and other amounts for Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Drivas’ guilty plea was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office, and the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.