Harlem Restauranteur Convicted of Felony Tax Fraud Charges

State Supreme Court Judge Imposes $100,000 Fine

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 27, 2026

For media inquiries only, contact: Ryan Cleveland, 518-457-7377

Harlem-based restauranteur, cookbook author, and television personality Melba Wilson has pleaded guilty in State Supreme Court to a felony charge for sales tax fraud. After payment of over $562,000 in back taxes, she was sentenced to a conditional discharge. A company wholly owned and operated by Wilson was additionally convicted of felony criminal tax fraud and was sentenced to a $100,000 fine.

“Working with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, we have recovered more than half a million dollars in back taxes and secured a significant penalty for tax fraud,” said Amanda Hiller, Acting Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. “The case, spanning several years from the initial investigation to its successful conclusion, shows that no one is above the law.”
 
Albany County District Attorney Lee C. Kindlon said: “Prominence is not protection. The law applies equally to the powerful and the unknown. When someone attempts to flout their tax obligations, we’re going to make sure they answer for it in court and repay every dollar.”

The case began in May 2018 with an allegation that Wilson and her Harlem restaurant, Melba’s, as well as a catering service owned by Wilson, had repeatedly failed to report and remit collected sales taxes.

As previously agreed, Wilson surrendered on September 4, 2025, to the NYS Department of Taxation for arrest on felony complaints and was arraigned on one charge of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First degree, a class E Felony, Wilson’s company, In Restaurants, LLC, was charged with Criminal Tax Fraud in the Second Degree, a class C Felony. Wilson and her company subsequently pleaded guilty to the crimes charged.

The case was prosecuted by NYS Tax Department’s Criminal Investigation Division attorneys Deborah Nathan and Sarah Leszczynski, who were acting as Special Assistant District Attorneys for the Albany County District Attorney's Office.