Nikol Zarbalas, 48, owner of Hellenic Republic in Coral Springs, was arrested on allegations that she failed to remit nearly $140,000 in sales taxes collected from customers. She also described to the Sun Sentinel a lengthy detention in Georgia and a 34-hour trip back to Florida.
According to a Sun Sentinel report, an investigator for the Florida Department of Revenue filed a charging document accusing Zarbalas of failing to turn over tax money collected from customers between 2021 and 2025. Zarbalas told the outlet she was arrested at an Atlanta airport on Oct. 9 while returning from a trip to Greece, where she said she had been filming a TV show.
Zarbalas told the Sun Sentinel she spent nearly two weeks in the Clayton County jail before being taken to Fort Lauderdale, a trip she said lasted 34 hours. The report says she was released on bail in Fort Lauderdale. She also described difficult jail conditions, including people screaming day and night and inmates who had committed violent acts.
Chef Says She Was Already Making Payments
Zarbalas told the Sun Sentinel she had been making monthly payments of $1,400 to the state under a payment plan and said she believed the state had agreed to work with her. She did not deny that she had previously been charged over the tax money…