As always, her main concern is for her family’s well-being and she is making sure the family has the guidance they need to assess the situation and move forward.” Knight was not involved in any way with the operation of the restaurants and she is sure that her son and his business partners will rectify the situation. Knight, a seven-time Grammy winner, is not suspected of any criminal activity in the case against her son.Ī statement from her public relations agency sent to CNN read, “Gladys Knight lent her name to her son’s restaurants in the Atlanta area, similar to a celebrity endorsement. They have all been for sales and withholding tax,” Gaston said. “He has been in over two dozen payment plans and has defaulted on all of them. This is not the first time Hankerson has been in hot water over taxes, agency spokesman William Gaston told CNN. An email inquiry sent to Hankerson received no response. The restaurant’s corporate phone line was disconnected. As soon as a receivership agreement is reached between the state and Hankerson, the restaurant should reopen for business,” Waites said. Hankerson’s attorney to have the business up and running again as soon as possible. A receptionist issued a statement of “no comment.” Revenue officials seized Hankerson’s bank accounts and three luxury vehicles, Waites said.ĬNN called the office of Hankerson’s Atlanta tax attorney, Josie Walton-Harris. Hankerson was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday as authorities negotiated terms of his surrender to Georgia authorities, according to the agency’s special investigation director, Josh Waites. “The department further alleges that Hankerson used these funds for personal use.”ĭepartment of Revenue agents executed search warrants at the three restaurant locations and a corporate office in Riverdale, Georgia, and “unsuccessfully attempted to serve arrest warrants on Shanga Hankerson … at his home,” the agency statement said. “After penalties and interest the total exceeds $1 million,” the department said. Shanga Hankerson, Knight’s son and the owner of the three Atlanta-area restaurants, “is accused of stealing over $650,000” in sales taxes and withholding taxes owed to the state, the agency said in a news release. Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles, an Atlanta dining institution that features Southern favorites and is named after the famed singer, was raided on Tuesday after Georgia’s Department of Revenue accused the owner – Knight’s son – of theft and tax evasion.
0 kommentar(er)
