Owner of Plaza Garibaldi; La Terraza charged with 29 tax-related felonies

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KEYC) - The owner of multiple restaurants in southern Minnesota has been charged with 29 tax-related felonies.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue says Juan Manuel Ocampo-Bunola of New Ulm is accused of fraudulently filing both sales and individual income tax returns.

Ocampo-Bunola is the CEO of Las Lomas Inc. which operates Plaza Garibaldi in Redwood Falls and New Ulm, as well as La Terraza in Mankato.

The company is registered in his wife’s name but the Dept. of Revenue believes Ocampo-Bunola is “intimately involved in the operations” of their restaurants.

According to the Department of Revenue, Ocampo-Bunola allegedly removed hundreds of sales transactions each month, assisting in the under-reporting of sales on their tax returns between January of 2017 and December of 2020.

Ocampo-Bunola allegedly owes $570,000 in tax, penalties and interest according to the Department of Revenue.

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