A Jacksonville Beach sushi restaurant owner has entered a guilty plea for the crime of sheltering undocumented immigrants at her establishment. Ping Ping Zheng, 37, faces up to a decade in federal penitentiary for her actions, as reported by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The conviction stems from an ICE-managed investigation that brought to light Zheng's employment of individuals without proper legal documentation.
In the wake of Zheng's plea agreement, she is to permanently hand over a Jacksonville property and a transit van to the government. While a sentencing date is still to be determined, Zheng's Kamiya 86 Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar was undeniably implicated as the site of the offense. Zheng had been accused to knowingly hire workers not legally permitted to be employed in the country, thus circumventing federal employment and immigration statutes. It was a deliberate act meant to economically benefit and ultimately propel her private financial interests.
According to court documents, Zheng's ownership of a residence was employed for more than just living; it became part and parcel to a system providing shelter to these workers without any demand for rent. Transportation needs were also met as she ferried her staff from home to the sushi bar, and back without any monetary exchange. These individuals, working within the confines of her eatery stationed at Jacksonville Beach, were also afforded complimentary meals during their shifts.
Zheng relied upon cash transactions to compensate her employees, and thus managed to avoid properly withholding taxes from their earnings. This discovery was a collaborative effort spearheaded by ICE's Jacksonville unit and the U.S. Border Patrol, with additional support provided by the Jacksonville Beach Police Department. The Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier is credited with the prosecution of this case, striving to enforce the accountability of such transgressions against the corpus of American immigration law.
