Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald and Commissioner John T. Beardmore of the Department of Revenue Administration ("DRA") announce that, earlier today, Maria Panourgias (age 61) of Windham, pled guilty in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern Division to two counts of defrauding the DRA.

Panourgias pled guilty to charges stemming from her representation during a DRA audit of Stylianos Asprogiannis and his Manchester-based restaurant AEK, Inc. d/b/a/ Zoey's Pizza. As tax preparer and power-of-attorney for the business, she willfully delivered to the DRA financial records, which she knew to be fraudulent.

Panourgias was sentenced to two consecutive six (6) month sentences at the House of Corrections, both suspended for two years. As a condition of her sentence, Panourgias is prohibited from representing any tax preparer before the DRA for two (2) years, which includes a prohibition on her preparing or assisting in the preparation of tax returns. Additionally, Panourgias must pay a fine totaling $2,000 and perform 50 hours of community service.

The successful resolution of this case was the result of the collaborative efforts of the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office and the DRA, with assistance from both the Manchester Police Department and Special Agents from the Criminal Division of the Internal Revenue Service.

The DRA and the Attorney General's Office continue to investigate revenue suppression related to the State's tax programs. If you have information related to revenue suppression or tax fraud, please visit the Department of Revenue Administration's website at http://www.revenue.nh.gov/how-do-i/report-tax-fraud.htm or send an email to TaxFraudHotline@dra.nh.gov, or call the Tax Fraud Hotline at 603-230-5030.