News

Actions

Couple sentenced to prison for housing, hiring undocumented workers in Akron home, restaurant

Posted at 9:00 PM, Aug 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-02 21:00:58-04

A couple who operated a restaurant in Akron was sentenced to prison for harboring and hiring undocumented workers, according to the Department of Justice.

Zhou Ziang Zou, 35, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and will then be deported. Xin Hsu, also 35, was sentenced to nine months in jail followed by nine months of house arrest. The two are married and live in Akron.

The couple owned the Royal Buffet and Grill restaurant in the Chapel Hill area. They and others conspired to harbor and harbored at least ten undocumented workers who worked in their restaurant for below minimum wage, and sometimes only for tips, according to court documents.

The pair, and others involved, also did not report or pay taxes on cash receipts for almost ten years. Officials say this resulted in a tax loss of at least $1.5 million.

Zou and Hsu alos housed the undocumented workers at one of their homes on Annapolis Avenue. Officials say the pair would drive the workers to and from the Royal Buffet and Grill. In total, as many as 14 undocumented workers were housed at one time in a single-family home, according to court documents.