State: Restaurant owner failed to pay $62K in sales tax

The owner of a popular restaurant known for fine steaks failed to pay more than $62,000 in state sales tax despite having nearly $6 million in the company’s bank account at the time, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.

Michael C. Wilson, 54, who is registered with the state as the sole managing member of Michael’s, 532 Margaret St., was jailed Nov. 11 on a felony charge of theft of state funds. Wilson is due to appear Dec. 1 before Judge Mark Jones at the Monroe County Courthouse for arraignment.

He was arrested at 9:20 a.m. Nov. 11 and booked into the county jail on Stock Island, where he was released before 11 a.m. after posting $30,000 bond.

Wilson collected but didn’t hand over $62,744 of sales tax money between April 2013 through June 2015, according to a probable-cause affidavit signed Dec. 21, 2015, by Alexandra Ramirez, senior financial investigator at the state Department of Revenue.

Ramirez subpoenaed Wilson’s bank records and said she found plenty of money available to pay the taxes.

Records from Centennial Bank “indicate that a total of $5,906,749.85 was deposited in the account maintained” between April 2013 and June 2015, according to the state.

The restaurant filed tax returns signed by Wilson, according to the affidavit, but didn’t include the sales tax due, Ramirez wrote. The state sent delinquency notices to Wilson and made several attempts “to secure voluntary compliance” with Wilson and also asked for a statement.

“No response was received,” the affidavit states.

Wilson couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 9:55 AM with the headline "State: Restaurant owner failed to pay $62K in sales tax."