LOS ANGELES – The owner of Amadeus Salon Inc., in Pasadena, a spa and salon, faces trial in October on federal charges that he embezzled thousands of dollars from his employees’ profit-sharing plan.
Joseph Wong of Rowland Heights, president and owner of Amadeus Salon Inc., was indicted by a Los Angeles federal grand jury on Sept. 3, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The eight-count indictment alleges that Wong embezzled from an employee benefit plan covered under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, commonly known as ERISA.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, according to the agency.
According to the indictment, Wong collectively withheld more than $26,000 from his employees’ paychecks that was supposed to be forwarded to a company-sponsored retirement plan between 2004 and 2008.
Instead of forwarding the money, however, Wong used the funds for his own benefit, the indictment alleges.
Wong was arrested Sept. 7 at his home, held overnight at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, and arraigned the following day, said Labor Department spokesman Jose A. Carnevali.
Wong pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment, and was released on a $50,000 bond, stated Carnevali.
