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Owner of bar featured on TV show gets prison in tax case

Posted at 8:35 AM, Jul 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-14 10:49:07-04

The owner of an Ann Arbor bar featured on a TV show has been sentenced to prison after authorities say he pocketed more than $700,000 in sales tax from customers.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette says 43-year-old Brian Michael Flore of Brighton learned his punishment on Wednesday in Ingham County Circuit Court. The sentence includes 2 to 5 years in prison and more than $1.5 million in restitution.

Flore pleaded guilty last year to failing to pay taxes and was given 11 months to make payments. Schuette says Flore didn't comply with the terms.

"The Arena" was featured on Spike TV's "Bar Rescue." Earlier, an investigation had started into tax payments over a 10-year period.