Thread: CA-OC buffet owners plead guilty to employing illegal aliens

OC buffet owners plead guilty to employing illegal aliens
By Jenny Hopkinson • Staff Writer • September 23, 2008

OCEAN CITY -- Two Ocean City restaurateurs have had to forfeit their Ocean Gateway establishment after pleading guilty to tax evasion and employing illegal aliens.


Bo Hao Zhu, 33, and his wife, Siu Ping Cheng, 30, owners of Miyako Sushi and Seafood Buffet, Panda China Buffet -- both in West Ocean City -- and the firm Zhu & Partners, LLC, face 18 months probation and a $50,000 fine after striking plea deals in the federal case against them.

After a two-year investigation into Zhu and Cheng's employees and business practices by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the couple pleaded guilty to the charges last Friday. As part of the sentencing, the government seized the Miyako restaurant at 12902 Ocean Gateway. Zhu purchased the 8,028-square-foot building in 2004 for $2.3 million.

The Panda China Buffet operates out of a rented space in the White Marlin Mall and is still in Zhu and Cheng's possession. Since the building is not owned by the restaurant's proprietors, the government cannot seize the property, a Justice Department spokeswoman said.

Zhu and Cheng declined to comment when reached by phone Monday, but Cheng did say they intend to keep the Panda China Buffet open.

ICE began investigating the couple in February of 2005 after noticing suspicious activity in their restaurant's bank account. In June 2006, the agency discovered that there were six illegal aliens living in a condominium owned by the couple, and who were working at the Panda China Buffet. A year later, the investigation showed four employees of the two restaurants were in the country illegally.

ICE found that Zhu and Cheng knowingly hired the illegal aliens and paid their meager salary in cash. On his 2007 return, Zhu failed to pay $6,798 in taxes and provided false information on his employees' wages to the Internal Revenue Service.

The couple's sentencing comes about a month after the Panda China Buffet was closed by the Worcester County health inspectors for failing to have adequate refrigeration facilities. The restaurant reopened, meeting county standards, on Aug. 15.

jhopkinson@dmg.gannett.com

410-213-9442, ext. 17
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /809230313

bet they never saw that in a fortune cookie

They may not be able to seize the building if it's rented, but why can't they seize the business - close it down and seize the equipment.