Owner of Hamburguesas El Gordo accused of evading $260,000 in taxes

The owner of popular Twin Cities burger and taco chain Hamburguesas El Gordo has been charged with evading $260,000 in taxes.

Charges were filed this week against Claudia Gutierrez Mendez, 40, of South St. Paul, who owns and operates Hamburguesas El Gordo locations in Minneapolis, West St. Paul and St. Paul.

She is charged with five counts of filing a false or fraudulent tax return, one count of failing to file a tax return, and four counts of failing to pay taxes in a case brought by Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena.

Per a criminal complaint, a Minnesota Department of Revenue (MNDOR) investigation alleges that Gutierrez Mendez "filed sales tax returns that underrepresented the sales conducted and sales tax owed by the business" between March 2018 and November 2022.

"MNDOR further determined from December 2022–February 2023, the business owner did not file any tax returns despite conducting business as usual and collecting taxes from customers," the release added.

An audit found that the total amount she owes is "more than $260,000."

According to the criminal complaint, when questioned about the tax underreporting, Gutierrez Mendez said she "made a lot of different mistakes" when operating her company.

Gutierrez Mendez is next due to appear in court on June 18.

Hamburguesas El Gordo first opened on St. Paul's Payne Avenue in 2015 and expanded to Cedar Avenue in south Minneapolis in 2017, before a landlord forced it to exit the original St. Paul location in 2018. It has since return to St. Paul – on Victoria Street – as well as opening in West St. Paul.