Michigan- The owner of Potter's Pub in Jackson was indicted Thursday in federal court based on an allegation that he failed to report more than $4.1 million in taxable income and gross receipts.
John M. Potter reported gross receipts of about $1.1 million from the topless bar from 2002 to 2005, knowing his true gross receipts were about $3.2 million, according to a written statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit.
Potter, 73, also knowingly filed personal income tax returns for the same years with the Internal Revenue Service, reporting about $174,000 in taxable income. His true taxable income was more than $2.2 million, according to the statement.
Efforts to reach Potter on Thursday night were unsuccessful. Employees said he was not at Potter's Pub, 621 E. Michigan Ave. near Cooper Street.
Nancy Potter, his daughter and pub manager, said she would get a message to her father.
She would not answer questions about the indictment. It was unclear where Potter resides. According to the statement, Potter lives in Cement City.
No one from the U.S. Attorney's Office or other officials could be reached after business hours Thursday.
Potter was indicted in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, on four counts of filing false personal and corporate income tax returns and four counts of assisting in the preparation of false personal and corporate income tax returns.
In December 2006, IRS special agents who had obtained a warrant searched the bar and seized various business books and records, according to the statement.
Potter's Pub, which occupies a space that first became a saloon in 1889, has been in operation since 1973. It went topless about 30 years ago.
