SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Four people connected to the Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet have been charged with crimes related to alien workers.
Four people face charges of conspiracy to harbor aliens, harboring aliens and aiding and abetting, and forfeiture, according to a court documents from the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota The four defendants work at the Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet on 41st St.
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The court documents name the following defendants: Hui Weng as the restaurant owner, Min Lin as a manager for “certain employees and transported alien employees to and from work” and Jin Ju Pan, who allegedly provided pay to employees and leased out property for alien employees to live.
Authorities redacted the name of the fourth person charged in the case.
Court documents said the defendants knowingly broke the law by inducing, hiring, paying, and housing alien employees in South Dakota for the purposes of private financial gain from 2014 through August 2023.
Alien employees were allowed to work at the restaurant without proof of authorization to work in the United States, the documents said. They were paid with cash, housed by employers, and transported to and from work by employers.
According to court documents, the defendants purchased and leased residences in Sioux Falls for alien employees to live, in exchange for rent payment to the business. Rent was paid to a bank account linked to the restaurant, the documents said, while utilities were paid by the restaurant. Court documents said the defendants told the alien employees they couldn’t live at the residence if they didn’t work at the restaurant.
Although the alien employees were paid for their work, court documents said the defendants took out monthly deductions for rent, transportation, and food. The defendants provided meals to alien employees from the restaurant, according to court documents, and deductions would be taken out of pay whether or not the employees ate the food.
Court documents said the defendants shared the proceeds of fraudulently obtained funds.
According to court documents, the defendants threatened alien employees that immigration authorities would be involved if the alien employees didn’t work hard enough or do what they were told.
At least four people were listed in the court documents as alien employees for the restaurant, living under a residence provided by the defendants.
On April 8, a handwritten sign on the Hibachi Grill door said the restaurant was closed. Later that afternoon, Weng and Lin were booked into the Minnehaha County jail.
In 2022, the US Department of Labor announced the Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet owed workers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime and back wages.
