Owner of Brookside restaurant pleads guilty to $566,128 tax fraud

The owner of a restaurant in the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City pleaded guilty Thursday to federal tax violations.

After waiving his right to a grand jury, Roger Geisler, 67, of Lenexa, admitted in federal court that he had filed a false tax return.

Geisler owns and operates Domo Sushi and Japanese Grill. He formerly owned and operated another restaurant, Matsu, in Westport, according to federal prosecutors.

In his plea, Geisler admitted that for the tax years 2007, 2008 and 2009, he submitted corporate tax returns that underreported his restaurants’ gross receipts.

Prosecutors said total unreported income for those years was $2,297,013. The tax due for those years was $402,860.

Geisler also did not report and pay employment taxes from 2007 to 2010. Prosecutors calculated that $163,268 should have been paid.

All told, prosecutors said, the schemes involved a total loss of $566,128.

Geisler also admitted that he did not file individual tax returns for 2007 through 2010.

Court documents show that Geisler spent at least $156,988 in business funds on personal expenses, including a home in Lenexa and a Lexus SUV.

He also gambled more than $400,000 at Kansas City area casinos, according to court documents.