Clarksville restaurant owner sentenced for harboring immigrants; $440K in tax fraud

Andy Humbles, Nashville Tennessean
·1 min read

A Clarksville restaurant owner is sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for harboring immigrants illegally and tax fraud conspiracy that totals more than $440,000, prosecutors said.

Quanwei Shi, 31, is the majority owner of the New China Buffett & Grill in Clarksville, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Shi and restaurant co-owner Chongqiang Chen, 30, also of Clarksville, were arrested in April 2020. Shi pleaded guilty in March and is sentenced for conspiracy to harbor immigrants, harboring immigrants, money laundering, tax evasion and employment tax fraud, the U.S. District Attorney's office said.

Shi conspired to conceal and harbor immigrants from China and Guatemala, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. The immigrants were employed at New China Buffet & Grill.

The immigrants were not required to complete forms related to immigration status and were paid in cash, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

The workers lived at Shi's Clarksville residence.

Workers were assigned to work in the kitchen where they would not be able to interact with the patrons of the restaurant, according to the prosecution.

More: Restaurant owners arrested over undocumented employees, tax fraud in Clarksville

Shi was also charged of under-reporting gross receipts on corporate tax returns for the restaurant for tax years 2017 through 2019. Shi did not collect, account for, and pay over employment taxes for an overall tax loss of $440,941, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

U.S. District Judge Eli J. Richardson ordered the forfeiture of Shi’s home and two vehicles and ordered restitution that totals $417,149, attorneys said.

Chen pleaded guilty in July and will be sentenced in February, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Clarksville restaurant owner sentenced for harboring immigrants; tax fraud