DA: East Bay buffet owners stole $6.5 million, forced workers to live in racially segregated dorms
MARTINEZ — While they were offering the public all-you-can-eat deals on pot stickers, sesame balls and egg rolls, the owners of a Bay Area Chinese restaurant chain were allegedly hiding a sinister secret.
Behind closed doors, according to authorities, the former owners and managers of Golden Dragon Buffet in Brentwood, New Dragon Buffet in San Leandro, Golden Wok Buffet in Roseville and Kokyo Sushi Buffet in Hayward were saving money by failing to pay their workers minimum wage. State investigators estimate they committed $4.5 million in wage theft from 2009-2013, and cheated California out of another $2 million in taxes.
In December, a Contra Costa grand jury indicted eight of Golden Dragon’s owners and managers — Brandon Quang, Yu Chen, Rongdi Zheng, Guo Cai Feng, Feng Gu, Lin Jiang, Zhou Xian Chen and Shao Rong Zhang — on 28 charges, including conspiracy, wage theft and workers compensation fraud. That same month, authorities raided four locations connected to the buffet chain, but Quang avoided arrest and fled the country. So did Feng and Jiang. All three are believed to be in China.
The other five defendants have agreed to plead guilty to some of the charges, and prosecutors have asked for sentences ranging from three to six years in state prison. Judge Charles “Ben” Burch is expected to decide on a sentence Friday afternoon.
Read more: http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/06/13/da-east-bay-buffet-owners-stole-6-5-million-forced-workers-to-live-in-racially-segregated-dorms/
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