Four men involved with running the Royal Buffet & Grill in the Chapel Hill area of Akron, already facing charges of harboring undocumented workers, have now been accused of cheating the federal government out of more than $3 million in income taxes.
On Wednesday, a federal grand jury in Cleveland returned the additional charges that allege conspiracy to commit tax fraud and filing false tax returns.
The indictment says that between 2003 and 2013, the owner/operators of the restaurant on Buchholzer Boulevard underreported the business’ gross receipts by $9.4 million, resulting in a loss of federal income tax of $3.2 million.
The indictment says the four men — and one other man who operated the restaurant — were involved in a conspiracy in which the majority of cash receipts were not reported to accountants hired to prepare tax returns.
“They recorded and kept detailed records of daily credit card and cash receipts; however, a majority of the cash receipts were not reported” to the accountant, the indictment says.
Last May, the four men were indicted on charges of harboring undocumented workers and paying them substandard wages. The indictment alleges that the four men housed as many as 14 undocumented workers in a small two-story home near Akron’s Chapel Hill Mall.
Some worked 11 hours, six days a week, and for that would receive less than $6 dollars an hour.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revealed that the four owner/operators worked with smuggling agencies in Chicago and New York to get employees who were of Chinese and Mexican descent.
Named in the indictment last year were Chau Fang Lam, 57, Rui Xu, 28, Xin Hsu, 34, and Zhou Qiang Zou, 33. Added to the indictment this week was Yuan Lin, 24, of Fairlawn.
It is unclear whether any of the indicted men remain involved with the Royal Buffet & Grill’s ownership or operation. An employee at the restaurant Thursday evening told a reporter that she didn’t know who owned the restaurant. She said the manager was not there.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Riley.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com.