Fried! Boston-Area Restaurant Owner Pleads Guilty to Fraud

BOSTON – A partial owner of 11 fried chicken takeout restaurants in the Boston area pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to tax an insurance fraud and committing visa and immigration fraud to stay in the United States.

Hazrat Khalid Khan, 57, of Middletown, N.Y., a Pakistani national, took part in a tax fraud scheme that ran for years along with his co-conspirators where they defrauded the government and avoided paying payroll and store-related income taxes, the Department of Justice said. The managers of the store paid the employees in cash and gave false information to tax preparers, including how many workers they employed and how much they were paid.

Two of Khan's co-defendants Khursed Iqbal, 57, and Rahman Zeb, 61, both Pakistani nationals, remain at large.