The IRS Catches Restaurant Owner Cooking the Books

Chu Chuk Cheung, owner of a restaurant in Springfield, Illinois, was indicted by a grand jury on 2 counts of tax evasion and 10 counts of structuring bank withdrawals to evade tax reporting requirements.

According to the indictment, Cheung, owner of the Osaka Japanese Restaurant, failed to report income he received from the restaurant of $376,976 in 2012 and $145,958 in 2013. In order to avoid his bank reporting transactions, Cheung would withdraw amounts less than $10,000, and it was shown he withdrew $9,000 on 10 separate occasions between August 2013 and September 2014. Cheung was also accused of failing to declare $187,911 of personal income in 2010 and $231,813 in 2011, although he was not charged.

If convicted, Cheung could face up to three years for each count of tax evasion, 10 years for each count of payment structuring, supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.