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Today the owner of the restaurant Century Buffet in Oakland, California’s Fruitvale District, was scheduled to be arraigned in Alameda County’s Hayward Hall of Justice in Hayward, California. Ji Li Zheng’s arraignment was to take place at 2:00 PM in Department 502 on charges from the Alameda County District Attorney’s office that Zheng committed payroll tax fraud, workers’ compensation fraud, failure to pay the State-mandated minimum wage and overtime premium, and dissuaded a witness.

The criminal complaint and probable cause declaration charges Ji Li Zheng with 16 felony and misdemeanor counts.

On June 20th 2013, Inspectors with the Alameda County DA’s office, along with representatives of the Labor Commissioner’s office, also known as the Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), executed a search warrant on Century Buffet. The investigation revealed that Zheng falsified the restaurant’s paperwork, including its audits, log sheets, time sheets, and payroll journals. The defendant reported that six to 12 employees worked at the restaurant, with total wages reported between $25,000 to $45,000 per quarter. If fact, there were 60 employees working at the buffet from 2010 until the investigation began.

Prior to the execution of the search warrant, the Labor Commissioner contacted Alameda County District Attorney, Nancy E. O’Malley’s office about problems at Century Buffet. During the investigation, Alameda County DA Inspectors and Deputy Labor Commissioners interviewed 19 victims in Spanish and Mandarin. The victims revealed that they worked 12 to 13 hour shifts six days a week without rest or meal breaks. Most employees stated they received monthly cash payments directly from defendant Zheng. Some stated that their only wages came from customer tips or that they were never paid at all.

The employees claimed Zheng misled them to believe the investigators were Immigration Officers. Zheng advised the employees not to talk to anyone about how much they worked, how much they were paid, and to flee immediately.

An audit by the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement revealed the total unpaid minimum wage to all employees totaled more than $520,000 and the total unpaid overtime was more than $550,000 for that same time period, in addition to over $191,000 as premium pay for no meal and rest periods provided.

District Attorney Nancy O’Malley made the statement, “Ji Li Zheng’s treatment of the workers at his restaurant was unconscionable. My office is a leader in the state in the area of worker protection. In this case and in all matters in which employers abuse the legal rights of their employees, I will remain vigilant in ensuring that the victims are made whole and that justice is served.”

California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su expressed, “This case sends a clear message that wage theft is a crime and it will be prosecuted as such in the State of California. This case should serve as a deterrent to employers who think they can get away with denying workers a just day’s pay for a hard day’s work and then falsify payroll records and threaten employees to hide the crime. It should also reassure those who are playing by the rules that we are doing everything in our power to level the playing field. I appreciate District Attorney O’Malley and the partnership between our offices to combat the underground economy.”

Deputy District Attorney Erin Loback is prosecuting this case.