Spa Owner From Brookville Pleads Guilty To Payroll Tax Crimes

BROOKVILLE, NY — A Brookville man has pleaded guilty to failing to pay the IRS payroll taxes on behalf of the spa companies he owned and managed, prosecutors said.

Sung Soo Chon, 63, was the CEO, president, and majority owner of Spa Castle Queens in College Point, New York, and Spa Castle Texas, in Carrolton, Texas. According to court documents and statements made in court, Chon oversaw daily operations at the two spas and directed subordinates to pay cash wages to select employees, many of whom were not legally permitted to work in the United States.

Chon did not withhold all of the legally required federal payroll taxes from the wages and filed false employment tax returns with the IRS, prosecutors said. During this period, it was reported that Chon's businesses concealed more than $1.3 million in cash wages. In total, the spa companies did not pay the IRS $199,238 in payroll taxes.

Chon is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 6. He faces up to five years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.