Cherry Hill restaurateur indicted on $272K tax fraud charges

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The owner of a now-closed restaurant in Camden County faces up to 20 years in state prison. According to authorities, he did not pay nearly $272,000 in state sales tax that was collected over a two-year period.

According to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Andrew Cosenza Jr. was indicted Oct. 29. The charges include one count of second-degree failure to make required disposition of property received; eight counts of third-degree filing a false tax return; and eight counts of third-degree failure to turn over collected, withheld taxes.

The charges stem from an investigation that began in mid-2023 into Cosenza and The Bistro at Cherry Hill. He had run the full-service eatery at the Cherry Hill Mall since 1998.

Cosenza filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Then the restaurant closed in July after a bankruptcy judge ordered the business liquidated for outstanding rent fees, Patch reported.

During the course of their investigation, authorities said they found Cosenza did not remit the proper amount of sales tax to the Division of Taxation for the years of 2021 and 2022. The state said that while the business was collecting sales tax from customers, it was not turning that money over to the state as required.

According to the AG’s office, second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree charges could result in a sentence of three to five years behind bars and a fine of up to $15,000.

In a statement, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said, “Everyone is required to pay their far share of taxes … This form of tax fraud will not be tolerated.”

Information on a defense attorney for Cosenza was not immediately available.

When the restaurant shut down last summer, it was behind on more than $360,000 in rental and leasing fees. At the time, Cosenza told The Courier-Post that the closure would be temporary. A third-generation family-owned business, The Bistro served Italian and American dishes. Cosenza previously filed for bankruptcy in 2017.