Story by Ethan
On November 18th, 2025, the arrest of Andrew Consenza, age 57, was announced by Attorney General Matthew J. Patkin. Andrew Consenza was charged with second-degree Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Property Received, eight counts of third-degree, Filing a False or Fraudulent Tax Return, and eight counts of third-degree Failure to Turn Over Collected, Withheld Taxes. The arrest and charges against Andrew Consenza were a result of an investigation handled by the New Jersey Division of Taxation’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, in June 2023 a joint investigation was initiated looking into a full-service restaurant called The Bistro owned by Andrew Cosenza. This restaurant was located within the Cherry Hill Mall, and it was alleged that Andrew Cosenza did not properly report accurate sales tax to the Division of Taxation during 2021 and 2022. Reports allege various discrepancies between gross amounts in Andrew Cosenza’s filed tax returns compared to amounts provided to the Division of Taxation. Through reviewing tax filing for the business, it depicts gross receipts for the restaurant largely surpassing the gross receipts reported on the Sales and Use Tax Form. Allegedly Andrew Cosenza used his business to collect sales tax from customers and patrons without turning over said taxes to the state which is required by the state. It’s estimated that during 2021 and 2022 the defendant allegedly failed to hand over $271,621 in sales taxes to the New Jersey Division of Taxation.
The Attorney General’s Office stated that the charges against Andrew Cosenza are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
