S.F. restaurant owner accused of underpaying, threatening workers

The former owner of a number of dim sum restaurants, including the Hong Kong Lounge I on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco's Richmond District was indicted for underpaying his employees. The former owner of a number of dim sum restaurants, including the Hong Kong Lounge I on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco's Richmond District was indicted for underpaying his employees. Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close S.F. restaurant owner accused of underpaying, threatening workers 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A San Francisco restaurateur has been indicted for allegedly underpaying his employees by more than $90,000 and then threatening them and demanding they return back pay provided to them by the U.S. Labor Department, authorities said.

Ming Lian Zhou, 57, of San Francisco was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of making false statements to a government agency and threatening his employees with economic harm, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Zhou was the owner of Hong Kong Lounge I and Hong Kong Lounge II, both located on Geary Boulevard in the Richmond District, when investigators determined in 2012 that he had underpaid 48 employees by more than $90,000, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Hong Kong Lounge II was featured in The Chronicle’s Top 100 Restaurants of 2015. The current owner, Annie Ho, said Zhou is no longer a part of the business, although a liquor license registered with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control still shows him as the licensee.

The U.S. Labor Department told Zhou that he had to pay the back wages and provide certified letters proving he had done so. Zhou allegedly turned over signed forms to authorities stating the wages had been paid when, in fact, they had not.

Zhou also instructed his employees to lie to investigators about the back pay, according to court documents.

In 2013, the Labor Department found out that none of the employees had been paid and required Zhou to turn the money he owed directly over to federal authorities, who would then issue checks to the workers.

Zhou turned over the money, but instructed employees to cash the Labor Department’s checks and give the money back to him, court documents say. He allegedly fired some workers who did not comply and cut the hours of others.

He was arraigned in federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison, authorities said.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale