ST. PAUL –The owner of a few restaurants in Southern Minnesota has been charged with 29 tax-related felonies. According to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Juan Manuel Ocampa-Bunola of New Ulm is accused of fraudulently filing sales and individual income tax returns.
Ocampo-Bunola is the CEO of Las Loma Incorporated, which runs three restaurants, Plaza Garibaldi in Redwood Falls and New Ulm, and La Terraza in Mankato. The Department of Revenue says Ocampo-Bunola is “intimately involved in the operations” of the restaurant, however the company is registered in his wife’s name.
The MN Department of Revenue alleges that between January of 2017 and December of 2020, Ocampo-Bunola removed hundreds of sales transactions each month, assisting in the under-reporting of sales on their tax returns. The Department of Revenue says Ocampo-Bunola owes $570,000 in taxes, penalties, and interest.
