U.S. Department of Justice Marcos Daniel Jiménez United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
	99 N.E. 4th Street Miami, FL 33132 (305) 961-9001

3 OWNERS OF LOS RANCHOS RESTAURANTS SENTENCED

Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Brian J. Wimpling, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced today that 3 of 4 owners of the Los Ranchos restaurants, Julio Somoza, Carlos Somoza, and Juan Wong, were sentenced yesterday and today in connection with a tax evasion scheme.

United States District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages yesterday sentenced Julio Somoza to 15 months’ imprisonment, followed by 4 years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.

Judge Ungaro-Benages today sentenced Carlos Somoza to 17 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release and a $40,000 fine.

United States District Judge Paul Huck today sentenced Juan Wong to one year of home confinement followed by 5 years’ supervised release and a $100,000 fine. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Wong was to have received a prison sentence, but the judge granted Wong’s request for a non-custodial sentence because of the extraordinary circumstance of his physical condition. Wong is paralyzed from the armpits down.

The fourth Los Ranchos defendant, Abraham Quant, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks on February 17th.

According to court documents filed last September, between 1997 and 2000, the defendants skimmed cash from the daily cash receipts of the Los Ranchos restaurants. The cash skim was accomplished by separating a portion of the restaurants’ cash receipts from other daily business records, including credit card and petty cash receipts. A part of the skimmed receipts was then distributed to each of the defendants. Documents were created in order for each defendant to be able to verify that he was receiving his portion of the skim.

During the period in question, court documents state that Carlos Somoza defrauded the United States and the Internal Revenue Service of approximately $411,000 in unpaid personal income tax. Documents also state that Julio Somoza, Juan Wong, and Abraham Quant each defrauded the government of approximately $277,000 in unpaid personal income tax.

Under the terms of plea agreements filed last September, each defendant has agreed to cooperate with the Internal Revenue Service in determining his tax liability, file amended returns, and repay unpaid taxes. Furthermore, each defendant has agreed to prepare a public service announcement, advising of the consequences of not paying income taxes.

Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. All of the cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Boscovich.

Return to Press Release Page

Technical comments about this website can be e-mailed to the Webmaster. PLEASE NOTE: The United States Attorney's Office does not respond to non-technical inquiries made to this website. If you wish to make a request for information, you may contact our office at 305-961-9001, or you may send a written inquiry to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, Fl. 33132.