The owner of a Stoughton restaurant and a now-shuttered West Roxbury steakhouse has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges after running a seven-year scheme that paid restaurant staff off the books, dodging hundreds of thousands of dollars in employment taxes. Marios Michalakis, 44, of Westwood faces up to five years in prison and has agreed to pay more than $2.4 million in combined restitution as part of the deal.
According to a federal charging document reported by Universal Hub, Michalakis instructed his payroll provider to file false quarterly payroll tax returns, known as Form 941s, for both Amelia's in Stoughton and Sofia Italian Steakhouse in West Roxbury between January 2016 and December 2022, all to conceal under-the-table cash wages paid to employees. As reported by the Boston Globe, Michalakis failed to withhold income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from those wages and never issued employees W-2 forms to report the income to the IRS.
The plea agreement resolves six federal charges of failing to collect, report, or pay employment taxes. Per the Globe's reporting, Michalakis will admit to evading roughly $580,000 in combined federal and state employment taxes over the seven-year span.
Restitution Bill Dwarfs the Unpaid Taxes
The tax evasion itself accounts for only part of what Michalakis now owes. Records show he will owe at least $515,815 in restitution for unpaid federal taxes and $69,143 for unpaid state taxes, according to the Globe. But the single largest number in the case is separate: the plea deal requires Michalakis to pay $1.9 million in restitution to the Small Business Administration to resolve outstanding federal loans tied to his restaurant operations, Universal Hub reports.
Michalakis also faces a $250,000 fine, which the Globe reports he must pay within 60 days of signing the plea agreement, along with up to three years of supervised release. Under federal law, each of the six counts carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross financial gain or loss, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Actual sentencing, however, rests with the presiding federal judge, who is not bound by the plea agreement's terms.
Prosecutors, Investigators Weigh In
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley has recommended a sentence on the lower end of the allowable range, according to court records cited by the Globe. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Frauds Unit, following an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation's Boston Field Office led by Special Agent in Charge Thomas Demeo, per the Justice Department.
Michalakis's formal plea hearing has been scheduled in federal court in Boston, though the exact date has been reported inconsistently: the Justice Department and Universal Hub both list September 8, 2026, while the Globe's reporting cites September 6, 2026.
A Restaurant Group's Roots in Quincy and West Roxbury
Michalakis built his restaurant footprint over more than a decade before the scheme came to light. He and business partner Emilios Ventouris ran Alfredo's Restaurant & Lounge in Quincy for six years before it closed in 2016, then operated Sofia Italian Steakhouse in West Roxbury, which the two founded together when it opened in 2009. The pair went on to open Amelia's in Stoughton as an expansion in 2012, according to Patch, though other reporting places Amelia's opening in 2014. Ventouris held a stake in Amelia's as well.
Amelia's grew steadily through the years the scheme was underway. In 2016, the Stoughton restaurant expanded its physical footprint with a 120-person outdoor dining patio and two additional restrooms following local municipal approval, Patch reported at the time — expansion that occurred in the same year prosecutors say the tax evasion scheme began.
Sofia's Closure and the VFW Parkway Building's History
Sofia Italian Steakhouse closed permanently in early 2024 after 16 years in business at 1430 VFW Parkway. Hoodline previously reported on the closure and advised gift card holders to redeem them at sister restaurant Amelia's in Stoughton. The building itself carries a layered local history, having previously housed Vintage steakhouse and the long-running Fontaine's chicken restaurant, known for its large waving neon chicken sign, before Sofia moved in; after Sofia's closure, the space was briefly occupied by Mission on Fire, according to Universal Hub.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Norfolk County
Michalakis's case fits a pattern federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have pursued against restaurant owners living in Westwood. The Westwood Minute notes that federal authorities have recently targeted multiple Westwood-based restaurant operators for severe financial and labor offenses, including a 2024 case that resulted in an 8.5-year prison sentence for the owner of Stash's Pizza. That broader enforcement trend underscores how off-the-books payroll systems in the restaurant industry can trigger compounding legal exposure, from tax fraud charges to federal loan restitution, long after the cash wages themselves were paid out.
