California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday that three Bay Area restaurant owners have been arraigned on multiple counts of tax evasion and labor law violations.
The three defendants are the owners, operators and the certified public accountants of three restaurants: Kobe Japanese Seafood Buffet in Daly City, Tomi Japanese Seafood and Grill in San Jose, and Tomi Japanese Seafood Buffet in Concord, according to a press release.
The three were arraigned on 65 counts including the filing of false tax returns, failure to pay unemployment insurance tax, and grand theft of labor.
The defendants, identified as David Tai Leung, 60; Sunny Siukeung Chan, 60; and Wendy Lai Ip, 55, allegedly stole more than $893,000 in wages from employees, and evaded $287,697 in sales tax and $171,820.55 in employment taxes.
“Thank you to the investigators and attorneys at our partner agencies: the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the California Department of Industrial Relations, and the Employment Development Department whose hard work shed light on the alleged theft and tax evasion happening in these restaurants, and ultimately led to the apprehension of these defendants,” Attorney General Bonta said. “We take our responsibility to protect working people and tax payer money seriously, and look forward to proving these allegations in court.”
The charges come as the result of a four year investigation by a group of agencies part of TRUE (Tax Recovery in the Underground Economy).
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