5 Middle Tennessee restaurant owners plead guilty in scheme harboring undocumented workers
Five Tennessee restaurant owners have plead guilty to an undocumented worker harboring scheme across eight mid-state Japanese restaurants, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Jaworski on Wednesday.
Court records identify the defendants as Zhongzhi “Tommy” Zhuo, 46, Jianping “Alan” Zhuo, 37, both of Hendersonville, Tenn., Jianhua “Jason” Zhuo, 35, of Gallatin, Tenn., Lili Wu, 32, of Gallatin and Xiaofen “Joyce” Zhuo, 38, of Hendersonville.
The restaurants identified in the indictment include Fuji Japanese Steakhouse, with locations in Hendersonville, Goodlettsville and White House; Bonfire Mongolian Grill, with locations in Hendersonville, Clarksville, Mount Juliet and Spring Hill; and the Koi Japanese Steakhouse in Gallatin.
“These defendants profited by exploiting and concealing the existence of vulnerable people,” Acting U.S. Attorney Jaworski said. “I commend our law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts to bring them to justice and to remove individuals from circumstances in which they were exploited.”
They were arrested in July 2022 and pleaded guilty following a nine-count indictment from a federal jury.
According to records filed with the court, the defendants participated in a scheme to harbor persons who were in the United States illegally, by providing a means of financial support through employment at the restaurants and providing them with housing and transportation and paying undocumented workers in cash to avoid paying employment taxes and to conceal the ongoing fraud.
In plea hearings this week, Zhongzhi Zhuo, Jianping Zhuo and Jianhua Zhuo pleaded guilty to:
Zhongzhi Zhuo also pleaded guilty to two counts of harboring aliens, and failure to pay employment taxes.
Lili Wu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S., by failure to collect and pay employment taxes to the IRS. Xiaofen Zhuo pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to defraud the United States by failure to collect and pay employment taxes to the IRS.
The defendants also agreed to forfeit residences that were used to facilitate violations of these crimes and funds derived from the commission of these crimes, resulting in them forfeiting nine bank accounts totaling approximately $412,209.14; U.S. currency totaling $434,400.24; and the properties at 138 Huntington Place, Hendersonville, Tenn.; 1119 Peninsula, Gallatin, Tenn.; 232 Trey Court, Clarksville, Tenn.; and 1050 Bradford Park Road, Mount Juliet, Tenn.
The United States also alleged that this scheme caused a tax loss to the IRS of $1,259,348 and will be seeking restitution.
“These employers exploited a vulnerable population and defrauded the government for their own profit," said Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) Nashville. "The guilty pleas are a prime example of the successful outcome when local, state, and federal partners collaborate to protect workers and American businesses. Through its investigations into exploitative employers, HSI protects the U.S. labor market, workplace conditions, and the dignity of individual workers, who are often taken advantage of through dangerous work conditions, underpayment, and using those noncitizens as a business model to maximize profits.”
“Unscrupulous businesses who willfully skirt their tax and legal workforce obligations must be held to account,” IRS CI Special Agent in Charge Donald “Trey” Eakins said. “Employers who deliberately deflect these obligations undermine what is owed to the U.S. government in payroll taxes and other fees, in addition to creating an unfair economic advantage over law-abiding business owners who play by the rules.”
The defendants face between five and 20 years in prison when they are sentenced later this year. A federal district court judge will determine the length of the sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Some of the restaurants are under new ownership.
This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: 5 TN restaurant owners plead guilty in harboring undocumented workers
