BISMARCK - U. S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Jan. 30, 2015, Youde Li, 42, Bismarck, N.D., was sentenced before U. S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland to time served and three years’ supervised release on four counts of tax evasion. Judge Hovland also ordered that Li pay $400 to the Crime Victims Fund as well as paying restitution to the IRS.
In March 2012, a search warrant was conducted on Li’s primary residence, the “China Garden" restaurant, and two safe deposit boxes. Bookkeeping records along with cash were discovered at Li’s residence. Li pleaded guilty to 4 counts of Tax Evasion for underreporting income of $961,000 from his Bismarck, N.D., restaurant called: “China Garden".
U.S. Attorney Purdon stated, “The U. S. Attorney’s office is committed to the enforcement of all federal tax violations, from refund scams to tax evasion schemes, and will continue to aggressively prosecute this category of federal crimes."
Shea Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the St. Paul Field Office stated, "Today's sentencing of business owner Mr. Youde Li again emphasizes that the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorney’s office will continue their aggressive pursuit of those who would attempt to defraud America's tax system. Our system of taxation depends on everybody paying their fair share."
Agents for the IRS were able to locate a set of books kept by the defendant which accounted for the illegal cash as well as a set of “cooked" books which attempted to falsely reflect that no cash had been skimmed from the business by Li. Also, Li failed to report any of the income on his 1040 personal tax returns.
This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service.
Assistant U. S. attorney Cameron Hayden prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
