Hu Xiaojun, Tax Evasion, Illinois 2024

Chicago restaurateur HU XIAOJUN, better known as “Tony Hu,” has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for orchestrating a multi-year scheme to hide more than $9.8 million in cash receipts from tax authorities. The 49-year-old owner of several Lao Sze Chuan restaurants across the city and suburbs systematically underreported sales, dodging over $1 million in state and local taxes between January 2010 and September 2014.

Hu, of Chicago, funneled unreported cash payments directly into his personal bank accounts, using the illicit funds to cover personal expenses while presenting falsified books to authorities. The fraud spanned five years and targeted both the Illinois Department of Revenue and the city of Chicago, exploiting the opacity of cash-heavy restaurant operations to keep his schemes under the radar.

Federal prosecutors revealed that Hu’s actions weren’t just accounting shortcuts—they were deliberate acts of deception. By structuring deposits and falsifying records, he laundered revenue through personal accounts, a move that landed him two felony convictions: one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He pleaded guilty to the charges in May.

U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve handed down the sentence with a $100,000 fine, underscoring the gravity of breaching public trust. “Business leaders like the defendant owe a special obligation to abide by our tax laws and pay their fair share,” Assistant U.S. Attorney William Ridgway wrote in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “When they fraudulently hide income it erodes the public’s trust in the tax system.”

The case was jointly pursued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, the FBI’s Chicago Office under Special Agent-in-Charge Michael J. Anderson, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, led by Special Agent-in-Charge James D. Robnett. The investigation peeled back layers of financial obfuscation to expose the full scope of Hu’s hidden cash empire.

Tony Hu’s downfall isn’t just a cautionary tale for small business owners—it’s a federal conviction that signals crackdowns on cash-driven tax fraud. With more than $9.8 million in unreported sales and a prison term now served, the message from prosecutors is clear: no one is beneath the law, not even a high-profile name in Chicago’s dining scene.

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