Buffet Owners Sentenced To Prison For Hiring Undocumented Workers
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two Twin Cities restaurateurs were sentenced Thursday to several months in prison for hiring undocumented workers, who were forced to work 12-hour shifts for six days a week.
The United States Attorney's Office says 46-year-old Ming Guo and 28-year-old Bijian "Wilson" Weng were convicted of one count each of knowingly hiring ten or more unlawful aliens to work at their Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet restaurants in Spring Lake Park and West St. Paul between 2013 and 2014.
The complaint says the men housed at least 17 illegal workers and transported them to and from work, keeping them isolated from the community and -- for some -- their families.
"These defendants created a successful restaurant business on the backs of undocumented workers," Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie E. Allyn said.
Weng, from Spring Lake Park, received a six-month prison sentence, six months of location monitoring, two years of supervised released, 100 hours of community service and he must pay about $305,000 in judgments and fines.
Guo, from Miami Beach, Florida, received the same dollar amount in fines and the same amount of supervised release, but got five months in prison, seven months of location monitoring and 50 hours of community service.