The U.S. Department of Justice is suing three defendants and six businesses affiliated with a Herndon diner, bakery, and catering company, Washington Business Journal reports.
The federal lawsuit claims that the company that owns Amphora Bakery and Amphora’s Diner Deluxe owes more than $20 million in unpaid employment taxes going back for more than a decade.
DOJ also alleges that local restauranteur Steven Bilidas and co-defendant George Cholakis are responsible for millions in unpaid employee withholding taxes and penalties. Other co-defendants include Maria Cholakis and six related businesses.
Bilidas filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Alexandria a week before the government filed suit. The move afforded him legal protections that DOJ lawyers now seek to lift so that the government’s complaint can move forward in U.S. district versus bankruptcy court. A judge will consider the motion, filed September 25, at an October 29 hearing.
Amphora Bakery and Amphora’s Diner Deluxe remain open.
