July 25, 2018( Courtesy of montrealgazette.com ) – A Montreal restaurateur has been fined $650,000 and given a suspended sentence of 18 months after pleading guilty to tax fraud, Revenue Quebec announced on Tuesday.

Giorgio Damiani pleaded guilty on June 11 to “producing false or misleading tax statements for 6152384 Canada Inc. by failing to declare the taxes collected.”

Damiani and four other restaurateurs were fined a total of $4 million by Revenue Quebec for tax fraud in June 2016.

Revenue Quebec said the infractions occurred between Nov. 1, 2008, and Feb. 28, 2014, and that the charges laid against Damiani in May 2016 followed raids conducted by the ministry a year earlier.

Damiani has two years to pay the fine.