Bai Tong Thai Street Cafe

Bai Tong Restaurants Will Remain Open After Owners Plead Guilty to Tax Fraud | Eater Seattle

"I learned that a 30-year-old Thai restaurant chain, Bai Tong, is trying to dig itself out of major legal trouble after owners Chadillada Lapangkura and Pornchai Chaiseeha pled guilty to charges of impeding and obstructing the IRS; they admitted using software that intentionally deleted cash sales at some locations (notably the Tukwila and Redmond branches) from about 2010 to August 2017, producing a reported tax loss of $299,806 on sales totaling more than $1 million. According to the plea, Lapangkura also allegedly transferred skimmed cash to bank accounts in Thailand; the charges carry up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, though the government is recommending no more than 18 months and a sentencing hearing is scheduled for November. The chain’s marketing director, Tucky Wongpaka, says all branches (including Capitol Hill and Issaquah locations) will remain open under the same ownership, and the owners say they reorganized after a 2017 audit, have paid roughly $400,000 in penalties, and even held a May 18, 2019 event to educate the Thai professional community about audits and tax compliance. In a candid speech, Lapangkura—whose mother Chanpen founded Bai Tong in 1989—described the shock of IRS agents arriving at her home, insisted “we weren’t taking out money for ourselves,” and urged others to hire good accountants and lawyers, be honest in audits, and “get up quickly and move on.”" - Gabe Guarente