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HOW OFTEN DOES THIS GET CAUGHT?

October 04, 2005

Have you ever gone to a little restaurant and noticed something odd at the cash register? Perhaps they ring up "no sale," or they never quite close the cash drawer?

Sometimes they get caught:

A Chillicothe couple has pleaded guilty in federal court, in separate but related cases, to tax evasion and to being an accessory after the fact. They face a total of up to seven years in prison and over $300,000 in fines, according to Todd P. Graves, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Chang King Wu, 40, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, and Hue Hien Chung, 41, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Vietnam, both residents of Chillicothe, waived the right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan Thursday.

Very sad. The restaurant business is tough, and the temptation to cheat must be strong - especially if you think your competitors are cheating too. But that doesn't make it a good idea. It looks like they could have afforded to pay:

"Even as he claimed an annual taxable income ranging from $10,000 to $21,000, Wu deposited more than $544,000 into his personal and business bank accounts and into the personal accounts of Chung," said Graves. . . . .

Full story here.

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