Shu Ping Chen, the owner of a Cheyenne restaurant, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for filing a false tax return. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson on October 28 in Cheyenne. Chen will not have supervised release after her prison term.
In addition to her prison sentence, Chen must pay $293,270 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and $66,426 to the State of Wyoming. She was also fined $75,000 and ordered to pay $35,000 toward prosecution costs.
Court documents show that Chen owned and operated China Buffet restaurant in Cheyenne and managed its daily operations and financial reporting. Beginning in 2018, she knowingly gave false financial information to her Certified Public Accountant (CPA), aware that this data would be used for preparing her tax returns. For the tax years 2018 through 2022, Chen underreported nearly $960,000 in gross cash receipts by providing inaccurate figures to her CPA. This resulted in a tax loss totaling $293,270 to the IRS and $66,426 to Wyoming.
On January 4, 2024, agents from the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) executed search warrants at both Chen’s business and residence. During these searches, Chen attempted to destroy business records.
Chen waived indictment and pleaded guilty on August 5 after an Information was filed on July 11. The investigation was led by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
“Tax fraud is a serious crime that undermines the integrity of our tax system and places an unfair burden on honest taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Darin Smith. “This sentence demonstrates the commitment of IRS-Criminal Investigation to holding individuals accountable for their actions and ensuring that everyone pays their fair share.”
