Belleville restaurant owner accused of dodging $100K in sales tax

The Illinois Attorney General has charged a Belleville man who formerly owned an Edwardsville restaurant with allegedly cheating the state out of more than $100,000 in sales tax revenue.

Saran Puribhat, 54, a Belleville resident and former owner of Zapp Thai Restaurant Inc., is charged with two counts of theft of government property exceeding $100,000, sales tax evasion exceeding $100,000, 39 counts of fraudulently filing sales and use tax returns and one count of wire fraud, according to a release from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office on Friday.

Prosecutors allege Puribhat owned and operated the restaurant from about February 2013 to February 2024. During the last four years of that period, he is accused of reporting false monthly sales totals on state sales and use tax forms, resulting in at least $103,607 in unpaid sales tax, the release said.

An attorney for Puribhat could not be reached for comment Friday.

“Individuals who falsify sales taxes are not just stealing from the state; they are stealing from the residents who rely on the important programs and services funded by Illinois tax revenue,” Raoul said in a statement.

The case follows an investigation by the Illinois Department of Revenue. Puribhat’s next court date is May 11.