Owner of 3 Broad Ripple bars charged for underreporting sales in multi-agency tax investigation

INDIANAPOLIS -- A business owner who owns three bars in Broad Ripple is facing several felony charges after being accused of failing to provide accurate sales numbers to the state of Indiana.




According to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, Robert Sabatini is facing a total of 27 charges for allegedly underreporting sales. These charges include 12 counts of Failure to Remit Food and Beverage Tax (Level 6 Felonies), 12 counts of Failure to Remit Taxes held in Trust (Level 6 Felonies) and three counts of Failure to Keep Records Open for Examination (Level 6 Felonies).

Sabatini is the owner of Rock Lobster located at 820 Broad Ripple Avenue, Mineshaft Saloon located at 812 Broad Ripple Avenue and Average Joe's Sports Pub & Grub located at 816 Broad Ripple Avenue.




The investigation into Sabatini began in July 2023 when the Marion County Prosecutor's Office Grand Jury Division collaborated with several local law enforcement agencies to review the business practices of the Broad Ripple bars.




During the initial tax investigation, four bars were reported for possibly underreporting taxable sales. The investigation reviewed data between January 2019 and July 2023. Search warrants for the businesses were obtained on April 22, 2024, as Connor's Pub and Sabatini's bars were under scrutiny for allegedly underreporting taxes.




Sabatini is the second owner to be charged following John Yaggi's charge for allegedly failing to report accurate sales figures. MCPO said Yaggi, the owner of Connor's Pub, was also charged with soliciting sexual acts from an employee in exchange for better shifts.




Court documents showed that investigators sifted through certified sales tax returns, corporate returns and bank records for Average Joe's Sports Pub & Grub, Rock Lobster, and The Mineshaft Saloon to assess the reported sales and total sales tax reported by Sabatini.








An overview of these documents, in conjunction with the search warrants served at each location, revealed that Sabatini allegedly underreported taxable sales totaling $3,986,303 and failed to remit $358,768 in total taxes to the Indiana Department of Revenue between 2020 and 2023.




"Broad Ripple Village is filled with local businesses who are willing to pay their fair share and are under the presumption that other establishments have the same commitment to equity," Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said. "Unfortunately, the allegations uncovered in these two investigations illustrate a pattern of corruption that hinders the trust of patrons and the community alike."





via: https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/owner-of-3-broad-ripple-bars-charged-for-underreporting-sales-in-multi-agency-tax-investigation/