Former Rancho Mirage Restaurant Owners Sentenced For Tax Evasion

The former owners of Maki Maki, located at The River in Rancho Mirage, were sentenced for sales tax evasion and insurance fraud on Wednesday.

In a case with losses totaling $2.1 million, Simon Sungheok Hong, and his wife, Katie Kyanghee Shinn pleaded guilty to 14 felonies. Hong entered his pleas on Jan. 12, while Shinn entered her pleas on Dec. 8, 2010, according to attorneys.

On Wednesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields sentenced Hong to two years in prison. Fields sentenced Shinn to four years in prison on Feb. 8. Hong and Shinn had faced up to 23 years in prison before making their pleas to the court.

Hong and Shinn owned and operated Maki Maki, which alos had a location in Irvine.

In late 2009, after the couple was arrested, prosecutors said the couple abruptly stopped operating both restaurants leaving at least a dozen employees without jobs and not being notified.

They pocketed $2.1 million which should have legally been distributed to the State Board of Equalization, according to court records, the Employment Development Department and the California State Compensation Insurance Fund.