Owner of Tobacco Road Cafes embezzled more than $1 million in sales taxes

Raed Abel Amra, who ran the businesses behind Tobacco Road Sports Cafes in Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill, will spend time in jail, on probation and pay $1 million after pleading guilty to embezzling sales taxes from his restaurants.

From October 2012 through December 2019, Amra redirected more than $1.7 million in state sales taxes for his own use, court records show.

He has already repaid $1 million and must pay back the rest over a five-year period.

Amra will also spend five years on supervised probation, including 12 months under house arrest,  and 150 days in jail in 30-day intervals over the next year.