New China Buffet owner sentenced to prison for harboring illegal aliens, tax fraud

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – One of the owners of New China Buffet & Grill in Clarksville has been sentenced to federal prison for a scheme to harbor undocumented workers and get around tax laws.

Quanwei Shi, 31, of Clarksville was sentenced Friday to 20 months in prison for conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens, money laundering, tax evasion, and employment tax fraud, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee in a news release.

Shi, the majority owner of the New China Buffet & Grill (NCBG) in Clarksville, and co-owner Chongqiang Chen, 30, also of Clarksville, were arrested in April 2020 on the 14-count indictment. Shi pleaded guilty in March.

According to court documents, between 2017 and April 2019, Shi conspired to conceal and harbor illegal aliens from China and Guatemala, profiting from their employment at NCBG.

“The undocumented workers were not required to complete any forms related to their immigration status and were paid in cash, outside the regular payroll system. The undocumented workers lived with Shi at his residence on D Street in Clarksville and were transported to NCBG and back daily. Shi assigned the workers to work in the kitchen where they would not be able to interact with the patrons of the restaurant,” the release said.

Shi also underreported gross receipts on NCBG’s corporate tax returns for 2017 through 2019, and failed to collect, account for, and pay employment taxes for an overall tax loss of $440,941.

U.S. District Judge Eli J. Richardson ordered the forfeiture of Shi’s house in Clarksville and two vehicles and ordered restitution in the amount of $417,149.

Chen pleaded guilty in July and will be sentenced on Feb. 25.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; the IRS-Criminal Investigation; the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State; the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; the Tennessee Bureau of Workers Compensation; the Clarksville Police Department; and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Beth Myers and Robert Levine are prosecuting the case.