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Investigators found that 56 workers at three Chinese-Malaysian restaurants in the San Francisco area were coerced to work up to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, for as little as $2 dollars an hour. Workers were denied overtime pay and meal breaks. Each affected worker is owed an average of $37,000, but the specific amount owed to each varies, ranging from $2,603 to $150, 523. Additionally, the owners of the restaurant, Hai Jie Chen and Hak Chun Ng, had set up communal housing for the workers, cramming as many as 15 people into a two-bedroom apartment. Chen and Ng were ordered to pay over $1 million in wage-theft restitution. The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office seized $1.7 million of the owners’ assets to compensate the victims.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley
Wage Theft
San Francisco
California
January 10, 2019
Unavailable
| First | Last | Age | Title | Employer | Injury Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 unnamed employees | Unavailable | Unavailable | Restaurant workers | Mango Garden, Mango Jungle, and/or Mango Blaze | Wage theft |
| Name | Type | Title | Plea Information | Conviction Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hai Jie Chen | Individual | Co-owner | Unavailable | Chen was convicted of felony conspiracy to commit wage theft and tax and insurance fraud. Chen was sentenced to probation and community service. The state seized $1.7 million in assets, including bank accounts, other businesses and homes, and will liquidate them to pay the workers their wages, back taxes, and other fines and penalties. Approximately $1.15 million will be used to compensate the workers, and the additional $550,000 will pay fines assessed by the California Labor Commissioner. |
|
Penal Crimes Charged
Felony conspiracy to commit wage theft; tax and insurance fraud. |
Other Crimes Charged
Unavailable |
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| Hak Chun Ng | Individual | Co-owner | Unavailable | Ng was convicted of misdemeanor violation of failing to pay minimum wage. Ng was sentenced to probation and community service. The state seized $1.7 million in assets, including bank accounts, other businesses and homes, and will liquidate them to pay the workers their wages, back taxes, and other fines and penalties. Approximately $1.15 million will be used to compensate the workers, and the additional $550,000 will pay fines assessed by the California Labor Commissioner. |
|
Penal Crimes Charged
Misdemeanor violation of failing to pay minimum wage. |
Other Crimes Charged
Unavailable |
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