Gracie's Chinese Cuisine owner pleads guilty to immigration, money laundering charges
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — An owner of Gracie’s Chinese Cuisine has pleaded guilty to two felony charges in federal court after a raid closed the Evansville restaurant for a month last year.
Kent K. Dam entered a guilty plea to "transporting and harboring aliens," as well as money laundering, last week. Dam has owned and operated Gracie's Chinese Cuisine for 20 years with Grace Sung. Sung is not listed in the court records.
The plea agreement states that since at least January 2017, and continuing through February 2021, Dam operated the restaurant using "unlawful" laborers.
Some of the workers came seeking employment on their own, while others were brought using a smuggler or handler, the document states. The handler would require a fee for the service, which Dam would reportedly pay. The worker would then reimburse him over time.
More: Evansville's Gracie's Chinese Cuisine closed after ICE raid Wednesday evening
The plea also states Dam would house the workers in a pair of residences he owned in Evansville and drive them around in his 2017 Toyota Tundra, which he will forfeit as part of the plea agreement.
Documents state Dam employed, harbored and transported at least six but less than 24 workers knowing they were not lawfully in the United States, and did so for "commercial advantage and private financial gain."
Penalties for "transporting and harboring aliens” include as much as 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years probation after any release from prison. Money laundering is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $500,000 fine and three years probation.
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This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville's Gracie's Chines Cuisine owner pleads guilty after raid
