OLYMPIA, Washington (Legal Newsline) — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson has announced his office has filed charges against Yu-Ling Wong, owner of the Facing East restaurant, alleging Wong hid cash transactions and pocketed tax money from patrons.
Wong allegedly used “sales suppression software” to hide cash transactions, pocketing close to $395,000 in sales tax from patrons.
“I will not tolerate businesses that line their pockets by stealing from taxpayers,” Ferguson said. “Using software to cheat on tax obligations is unfair to businesses that play by the rules and it robs Washington taxpayers of the money that is supposed to fund our schools, parks and roads.”
Sales suppression software lets the user remove cash from the register while it still reflects balanced business records. The user can then steal the sales tax collected on the transactions that had been eliminated, Ferguson's office said. This shortchanges the state.