Fraud Not S­o Well-done

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Small businesses are the backbone of this country’s economy. Many small business owners can make their dreams come true and provide jobs for others through their hard work. (Unfortunately, not all business owners are honest or engaging in legal activities.)

Leonard Charles Fleszar of Phoenix, Ariz., pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return after falsely underreporting thousands in taxable income from his restaurants from 2014 through 2017. Fleszar is the former owner of Lenny’s Burger Shop. (Fellow small business owners, this is not how you end up with a successful business.)

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Fleszar purposely underreported his taxable income by over $605,000 in 2017, by $478,000 in 2016 and by $451,000 in 2015. He has agreed to pay $689,000 in restitution to the IRS. (The IRS is looking for a side of justice served well-done.)

Fleszar is scheduled to be sentenced on July 7, 2022. (It’s highly unlikely that his sentence will be served with fries and a milkshake.)

Today’s Fraud of the Day comes the NBC 12 News article “Lenny’s Burger Shop owner pleads guilty to falsifying tax returns,” published on April 25, 2022.

PHEONIX – Leonard Charles Fleszar, owner of Lenny’s Burger Shop, pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return after falsely underreporting thousands in taxable income. He is scheduled to be sentenced this coming July.

Leonard Charles Fleszar, the former owner of the Valley burger shops, pleaded guilty last week in court to one count of filing a false tax return.

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Larry Benson, Senior Director of Strategic Alliances, LexisNexis Risk Solutions - Government

Larry Benson is responsible for developing strategic partnerships and solutions for the government vertical. His expertise focuses on how government programs are defrauded by criminal groups, and the approaches necessary to prevent them from succeeding.

Mr. Benson has 30 years of experience in sales and business development. Before joining LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, he spent 12 years founding and managing two software technology startups. During the 1990s he spent 10 years as a Regional Director helping to grow a New England-based technology company from 300 employees to 7,000. He started his career with Martin Marietta Aerospace working on laser guided weapons and day/night vision systems.

A sought-after speaker and accomplished writer, Mr. Benson is the principal author of “Fraud of the Day,” a website dedicated to educating government officials about how criminals are defrauding government programs. He has co-authored WTF? Where’s the Fraud? How to Unmask and Stop Identity Fraud’s Drain on Our Government, and Data Personified, How Fraud is Changing the Meaning of Identity.

Benson holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Albright College, and earned two graduate degrees – a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology, and a Master of Science in Engineering from Lehigh University.