PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Drexel Hill restaurant owner has pleaded guilty in federal court to tax evasion after authorities said he concealed substantial cash income and underreported employees for years while operating a Philadelphia pizzeria.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said Cihan Calkap, 42, entered a guilty plea Tuesday, February 3, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Kai N. Scott to one count of tax evasion stemming from his operation of Mimmo’s Pizza and Kitchen.
According to court filings, Calkap owned and operated the restaurant between 2015 and 2019, during which time the business generated significant revenue and employed approximately 25 workers. Prosecutors said Calkap routinely removed cash from the business rather than depositing all receipts into company bank accounts and used that cash to pay himself and maintain an off-the-books payroll for most employees.
Authorities said Calkap avoided paying required taxes by providing his accountant with incomplete financial information, granting access only to bank records that did not reflect the restaurant’s full cash income. As a result, false corporate and personal tax returns were prepared and filed with the Internal Revenue Service, significantly understating Mimmo’s total receipts from 2015 through 2018.
Court documents also state that Calkap falsely represented to his tax preparer that the business employed only four people, including himself, when the actual workforce was far larger. Prosecutors said this misrepresentation allowed him to reduce employment taxes that should have been withheld and paid to the IRS.
Calkap is scheduled to be sentenced May 14 and faces a maximum possible penalty of five years in federal prison.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Chief Thomas F. Koelbl and Trial Attorney Likhitha Butchireddygari of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Tax Section, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Murray.
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