Owner of Richie’s fast food restaurants convicted of tax crimes

CINCINNATI (ENQUIRER) - The owner of the local fast-food chain Richie's who prosecutors say used business funds for personal use, including more than $1 million for gambling , has been convicted of tax crimes, our partners at the Cincinnati Enquirer report.

On Friday, a jury in federal court in Cincinnati found Richard Bhoolai guilty of eight counts of willful failure to pay employment taxes, court records show. The trial began Sept. 16 before U.S. District Judge Douglas Cole.

Bhoolai, 65, is the owner of Richie's Fast Food Restaurants, which court documents say operates three locations in Avondale, Bond Hill and West End.

The charges surrounded the first part of 2017 through 2018.

The restaurants employed between 22 and 34 people, and Richie's withheld taxes from their paychecks, including federal income taxes, Medicare and Social Security taxes. But that money was not submitted to the IRS, prosecutors said.

Instead, according to court documents, Bhoolai withdrew more than $1 million from business bank accounts and spent much of it at the Downtown casino now called Hard Rock Casino.

He was indicted in April 2023. Willful failure to pay employment taxes in punishable by up to five years in prison, although federal sentences are determined based on a complicated formula that considers multiple factors. A sentencing hearing in the case has not yet been scheduled.

Prosecutors said Bhoolai has a long history of tax noncompliance, dating back to at least 2009.