Date: July 29, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that, William Chen, of West Hartford waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in Bridgeport federal court to offenses stemming from an extensive tax fraud scheme involving Connecticut and Massachusetts restaurants that he owns and operates. According to court documents and statements made in court, Chen is a part owner of several restaurants, including Ginza Japanese Restaurant in Bloomfield, Ginza Japanese Cuisine in Wethersfield, Kaliubon Ramen in Wethersfield and West Hartford, and Feng Asian Bistro in Hartford and Canton, and Millbury, Massachusetts. Chen was responsible for purchasing and using the Point-of-Sale (POS) system for restaurant orders, and for training staff on the use of the POS system. In connection with the POS system, Chen paid an additional fee to activate "zapper" software, which is a commercial computer program designed to deliberately delete transactions from the POS system to create fraudulent sales records. From approximately 2013 to 2020, Chen and others who worked at the restaurants deleted cash transactions with the intent to reduce the gross receipts and the amount of sales tax collected reported by the POS. As a result, Chen intentionally suppressed the restaurants' taxable income that he disclosed to his accountant who prepared his and his restaurants' income tax returns. Chen was also responsible for the accounting and financial records at the restaurants, for the collection and withholding of employment taxes for the restaurants at which he worked, and for signing the restaurants' tax returns. For the 2013 through 2020 tax years, Chen failed to withhold, account for, and pay to the IRS federal income taxes, Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes ("FICA"), and federal unemployment taxes for multiple employees that he paid, or that he knew were paid, in cash. The tax loss attributable to Chen's criminal conduct is $2,092,926.94. Chen pleaded guilty to two counts of filing a false tax return, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years on each count. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam on October 21, 2022. Chen was released on his personal recognizance pending sentencing. This matter is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.
