The owner of Richie's Restaurant, a popular local chicken shop chain, has been convicted by a federal jury for wage theft.
After a five-week federal trial, Richard Bhoolai, 65, was found guilty on Sept. 23 on eight counts of
Bhoolai was first indicted in April 2023. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, meaning Bhoolai could face up to 40 years total. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Richie's has been around since 1986, serving up soul food on-the-go dishes, including fried chicken, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and the like. Richie's expanded over time with four Cincinnati locations and one in Lexington.
It's unclear what will happen to Bhoolai's Richie's locations after sentencing.
willful failure to pay over employment taxes, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice's Southern District of Ohio office.
According to the DOJ, Bhoolai used taxes taken from his employees' paychecks for his own personal use, including gambling. This happened at three Richie's locations between 2017 and 2018, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars of business proceeds used to "engage in more than $1 million of gambling activity."
According to the DOJ, Bhoolai used taxes taken from his employees' paychecks for his own personal use, including gambling. This happened at three Richie's locations between 2017 and 2018, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars of business proceeds used to "engage in more than $1 million of gambling activity."
Bhoolai was first indicted in April 2023. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, meaning Bhoolai could face up to 40 years total. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
It's unclear what will happen to Bhoolai's Richie's locations after sentencing.
