A two-year prison sentence was handed to local San Diegan restaurant owner, Zihan Zhang, for stealing wages and tips from employees.
The District Attorney’s Office, which announced the sentence on Dec. 12, said Zhang’s case was the first of its kind in the state to result in a conviction by a jury under a theory of “felony grand wage theft by false pretenses.”
According to the California Labor Commissioner’s Office and the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, Zhang allegedly targeted immigrant workers and promised wages. To the contrary, she often paid only in tips, and some of the kitchen staff was paid as little as $4 an hour and forced to work during breaks and meal periods.
The owner further collected a portion of the tips from the unpaid workers and charged them $5 per shift for "glass breakage" to offset her operating costs, said California Labor Commissioner Elaine Su.
"She was a very greedy person," said former worker Tita Ghanjanasak. "Her excuse was she was behind, she needs help with everything. Everyone was trying to be understandable."
Ghanjanasak said she worked the restaurant for three months and was fired after confronting Zhang about not being paid. Ghanjanasak said the loss of income forced her into homelessness.
"It was really hard to get by, get another job after that," she said.
Besides her employees, she has also manipulated customers into sympathizing with her similar excuses. This review by a Yelp customer is such an example.
San Diego County Superior Court further required the owner to repay $20,000 in stolen wages and tips to six of the restaurant workers.
The wage theft came to light in 2014 after some of the workers filed wage claims with the Labor Commissioner’s Office. After an investigation, the Labor Commissioner’s Office cited Antique Thai more than $36,000 for various labor violations, including failing to pay workers the minimum wage, as well as for working overtime.
"With the Labor Commissioner's assistance, we delivered justice for workers who were repeatedly abused by a dishonest employer," said San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. "Prosecuting these types of cases helps ensure a level playing field for honest employers to fairly compete in the marketplace."
