KC restaurant owner cheated on taxes for years

A Kansas City restaurant owner who lost big money gambling also lost on another bet.

He thought he would be dead before the IRS discovered he cheated on his taxes. Not so.

Roger Geisler, 67, of Lenexa, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Kansas City to filing a false tax return.

It was part of a scheme to avoid paying more than $566,000 in corporate taxes.

Also from a media release by federal prosecutors:

Geisler owned and operated Domo Sushi Bar and Grill in the Brookside area and Matsu Japanese Restaurant (from 1980 to 2010) in the Westport area.

For tax years 20007, 2008, and 2009, he underreported receipts. He also failed to report and pay over employment taxes from 2007 to 2010.

He also did not file individual tax returns from 2007 to 2010.

After the IRS contacted him, his accountant asked him how he thought he could get away with not paying taxes.

His response: “I thought I would be dead before they caught on.”

He spent almost $157,000 in business funds on personal expenses, like his Lenexa home and a Lexus SUV.

And he said he had a gambling problem, losing almost $450,000 at area casinos.

A judge could sentence him later to up to three years in prison.