Tank's Sushi Bistro owners in St. Johns County plead guilty to harboring workers illegally

The owners of two sushi restaurants in St. Johns County have pleaded guilty to illegally harboring workers for commercial and financial gain and have to forfeit their homes, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Ge "Tank" Tang, 41, and Yanshen Huang, 36, now face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when they're sentenced in January. Part of the plea agreement includes forfeiture of two homes in St. Augustine and Saint Johns that were used to house workers along with a van used to transport them and $35,720 in cash, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Tang and Huang owned and operated Tank's Sushi Bistro Seafood & Steaks in St. Augustine and Tank's Sushi Bistro in Ponte Vedra. They were arrested on May 11 following an investigation that began in September 2020 when agents were looking into a Guatemalan man's immigration case. Tang and Huang were born in China but are naturalized U.S. citizens, according to court documents

They employed staff who were living here illegally and not authorized to work in the United States. They allowed them to live in their homes near the two restaurants and provided them transportation to and from work, according to the plea agreement.

Illegal immigrants: Agents uncover human smuggling case in home owned by River City Marketplace restaurateurs

Sushi Cafe: Jacksonville sushi restaurant manager jailed in illegal alien investigation

Cilantro Indian Cuisine: Owner of Mandarin restaurant to be deported after jail

During a search warrant on the home in St. Augustine owned by Tang, there were several makeshift bedrooms on the first floor and another in a utility closet on the second floor, investigators said.

Tang and Huang paid the crews in cash and did not withhold taxes or report them to state revenue authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

One of the Guatemalan workers entered the U.S. through New Mexico in 2018 and paid $10,000 to be smuggled across the border from Mexico, court documents show. He told investigators he was paid $4,000 in cash each month and his boss paid for his housing and food eaten at the restaurant. The man worked six days a week and about 12 hours per day.

The St. Augustine Record profiled Tang in 2016 at his World Golf Village bistro location in St. Augustine.

The restaurants' food service and beverage licenses remain active, according to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: St. Johns County restaurant owners lose homes for harboring illegals