California Restaurant Owner Convicted of Tax and COVID-19 Fraud

Leronce Suel, owner of San Diego-based restaurants, was convicted of defrauding COVID-19 relief programs and filing false tax returns.Photo bybig.tiny.bellyonUnsplash

A federal jury in San Diego has convicted Leronce Suel, a California restaurant owner, on multiple charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy, and tax crimes related to schemes defrauding COVID-19 relief programs and filing false tax returns, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today.

Suel, the majority owner of Rockstar Dough LLC and Chicken Feed LLC, which operated restaurants in the San Diego area, including Streetcar Merchants in North Park, conspired to underreport over $1.7 million in gross receipts on Rockstar Dough’s 2020 corporate tax return and COVID-19 relief applications, according to the DOJ.

His businesses fraudulently secured $1.77 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants; programs designed to aid those financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Suel and a co-conspirator misappropriated the relief funds by making large cash withdrawals, purchasing a home in Arkansas, and storing over $2.4 million in cash in Suel’s bedroom.

Additionally, Suel failed to file timely tax returns for 2018 and 2019 and did not report personal or business income from 2020 to 2022, including millions in cash withdrawals.

In 2023, Suel filed false tax returns for several years, claiming fraudulent depreciable assets and business losses, resulting in a tax loss of $1.29 million to the IRS.

Suel was convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, tax evasion, conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing false tax returns, and failing to file tax returns, according to DOJ.

He was acquitted of money laundering charges. Following his conviction, Suel agreed to forfeit $1.47 million in U.S. currency.

Suel faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five years for tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States, three years for each count of filing false tax returns, and one year for each count of failing to file tax returns.

His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 13, 2024.