Date: April 14, 2023 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Newport News, VA — A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging a Williamsburg man with nine counts of tax fraud. According to the indictment, Stephen G. Genakos is the sole owner and managing director of Sarantos, Inc., a Virginia Subchapter S corporation that does business as a restaurant, the Sportsmans Grille, in James City County. The indictment alleges that since 2016, Genakos skimmed more than $670,000 in U.S. currency from the Sportsmans Grille. During this period, he is alleged to have deposited more than $112,000 in currency in his personal bank accounts and gambled more than $502,000 with the Virginia Lottery. The indictment further alleges that in 2020, Genakos listed the Sportsmans Grille for sale. In 2021, undercover agents from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made contact with Genakos. During this operation, Genakos allegedly joked about his "magic book" and ultimately provided IRS agents the chance to view the true books and records of the Sportsmans Grille. The indictment further alleges that for tax years 2016 through 2020, Genakos filed materially false tax returns for himself and his business, Sarantos Inc. He is charged with filing nine returns that understate his taxable income by more than $670,000 and caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $113,163. Genakos is charged with aiding and assisting in the preparation of materially false tax returns. If convicted, Genakos faces a maximum of 3 years in prison on each of the nine counts. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kareem A. Carter, IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mack Coleman and Brian Samuels are prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
