I-9 E-Verify Immigration Compliance

By Bruce Buchanan, Sebelist Buchanan Law PLLC



An owner of two restaurants in Ukiah, California, Yaowapha Ritdet, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison for harboring for profit and corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the internal revenue laws. According to documents filed with the court, Ritdet hired Thai nationals who were illegally present in the United States to work at her restaurants, Ruen Tong Thai Cuisine and Walter Café. Ritdet underpaid these employees, paid them in cash, and instructed them not to speak to anyone about their immigration status. Ritdet also did not pay employment taxes on the cash wages. Ritdet filed false individual income tax returns for 2007 through 2011 that underreported the gross receipts, sales, and income she received from her two restaurants.

In addition to prison, Ritdet was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $567,755.65 in restitution, including $70,768 to underpaid employees and $496,987 to the Internal Revenue Service.

Tags: harboring, immigration, prison, restitution, undocumented workers

By: Bruce Buchanan, Sebelist Buchanan Law



A restaurant owner pleaded guilty to harboring undocumented workers for profit and tax evasion, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation.

Yaowapha Ritdet of Ukiah, California admitted she knowingly hired Thai nationals who were illegally present in the United States to work at her restaurants, Ruen Tong Thai Cuisine and the Walter Café.

Ritdet further admitted she underpaid employees and instructed them not to speak to anyone about their immigration status and willfully filed false individual income tax returns for 2007 through 2011, failing to disclose income received from her two restaurants, as well as rental income and a foreign bank account. She also admitted failing to accurately report employment taxes for her restaurant workers, who were paid in cash. Ritdet is scheduled to be sentenced on February 22, 2017.

Tags: guilty, harboring, ice, tax evasion, undocumented workers