H+H Bagels Owner Indicted On Tax Fraud Charges

The owner of H+H Bagels was indicted on tax fraud charges today. Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said that Helmer Toro collected payroll taxes from employees but didn't pay them to the government and also evaded unemployment insurance tax.

CityRoom explains Toro's scheme to avoid the unemployment tax: "Prosecutors say that Mr. Toro set up a new shell company every year for six consecutive years, closing down the company from the previous year, in order to maintain a low unemployment insurance tax rate. The longer a company has been around and the more employees it has let go, the higher the company’s unemployment insurance rate will be, according to M. Patricia Smith, commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor."

Back in May, H+H locations were closed after being seized for the non-payment of taxes but opened a few hours later. And their bagels were featured in a recent episode of The Office: