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March 26, 2014

Restaurant manager gets 14 months for illegal hiring

A U.S. District Court judge on Tuesday sentenced the former manager of a Chinese buffet restaurant in Lewiston to 14 months in federal prison on conspiracy charges related to the employment of unauthorized workers.

The Bangor Daily News reported that 31-year-old Mei Juan Zhang of Fairfield pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens for commercial advantage private gain, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to falsify the restaurant’s quarterly federal tax returns.

Zhang was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and more than $54,000 in restitution in unpaid payroll taxes. Her prison sentence was set to begin May 30.

Mei Juan Zhang is the first to be sentenced in the case that also resulted in charges against Zhang’s cousin, 28-year-old Mei Ya Zhang of Brewer. The family owned restaurants in Brewer, Portland, Lewiston and Waterville as well as five restaurants in Massachusetts and two in Rhode Island.

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