UTICA, N.Y. (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – On Wednesday, July 13^th, the family owners of Dippin Donuts were sentenced in federal court in Utica for tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States by the U. S. Department of Justice Attorney’s Office Northern Division District of New York.

69-year-old John Zourdos, 65-year-old Helen Zourdos, and 39-year-old Dimitrios Zourdos were each convicted in November 2021 by a federal jury of conspiracy to defraud the United States, tax evasion, and helping to file false corporate tax returns.

During their trial, it was revealed that from 2012 to 2017, the trio was operating three Dippin Donuts coffee and donut shops in Rome and the New Hartford area and concealed $4.5 million in cash sales from the IRS. Additionally, they evaded more than $2 million in individual and corporate taxes by depositing money into personal bank accounts rather than business accounts, therefore providing incomplete information to their accountants. This caused their accountants to file falsified individual and corporate tax returns to the IRS.

They also bought personal items with undeposited and unreported money, as well as unreported income that included multiple luxury vehicles, expensive watches, investment accounts, real estate, and paying employees “off the books” cash wages to avoid federal payroll taxes.

John Zourdos was given 30 months in federal prison, Helen Zourdos was given 20 months in federal prison, and Dimitrios Zourdos was given 10 months in federal prison, as well as $2,000,769 in restitution, and 3 years of supervised release after their incarceration.