Former Luau Owners Charged With Theft

Devotees of Luau Polynesian Lounge will recall that the resurgent Tangletown bar underwent a rough patch before being restored to its current (and past) splendor by comeback kid co-owners Tony Boitano and Thomas Price. This short period in the mid-2000's coincided with the stewardship of former husband and wife co-owners Ki S. Kim and Sun E. Kim, who today were charged with sales tax theft by the Washington State Department of Revenue. Per a DOR press release, the Kims' malfeasance is alleged to to have included the following:

"First degree theft charges were filed today against a couple who allegedly siphoned off $28,000 in sales taxes they collected on their Seattle restaurant to pay for personal expenses. Ki S. Kim, 57, and his wife Sun E. Kim, 51, both of Renton, were charged with failing to forward all the sales taxes they collected in 2004 and 2005 when they operated the Luau Polynesian Lounge in Seattle. The charges were filed by the Criminal Justice Division of the Attorney General�s Office at the request of the Washington State Department of Revenue. Charging papers filed in King County Superior Court allege that the Kims remitted only $5,293 of $33,082 in sales tax they collected, and diverted the rest for their personal use, including spending more than $2,000 a month for car expenses. The Department of Revenue was able to recover $5,100 of the unpaid taxes by levying the couple�s bank accounts and wages, leaving $22,686 in unpaid taxes. The couple, who have operated a string of businesses in the Puget Sound area since at least 1993, was forced to close the Luau Polynesian Lounge after defaulting on their purchase agreement in 2005. The theft charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine."