Music legend Gladys Knight’s son was sentenced to two years in prison for failing to submit payroll taxes when he owned “Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles” restaurant.
Shanga Hankerson was convicted in July on charges that he had not submitted over $1 million in payroll taxes owed to the government while running the restaurant chain.
“Hankerson willfully disregarded his tax obligations for many years,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine. “Payroll taxes fund social insurance programs, including Social Security and Medicare, and are a large source of revenue for the federal government. Employers who fail to comply with their legal obligations will be held accountable.”
“While ownership of a well-known restaurant in our community has its perks, it also comes with great responsibility,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James Dorsey. “Paying taxes is a way to give back to the community, but unfortunately Hankerson chose to use those funds for other means. This sentencing emphasizes that all employers, big and small, have equal responsibility to collect, report, and pay over their own payroll taxes.”
In June 2016, Georgia Department of Revenue agents raided the midtown Atlanta restaurant. Hankerson owed them more rgan $650,000 from his three Chicken and Waffles restaurants.
Knight allowed her son to use her name for the restaurants but was not involved with any of the daily operations, WBSTV reported.
However, a lawsuit forced him to remove her name shortly before the popular Chicken and Waffles shut down for good in 2017.
Authorities said because Hankerson was the sole owner of the eateries. He was supposed to collect those monies from at least 2012 through 2016. He did not collect them.
Hankerson was sentenced to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and has to repay $1,039,310.65.
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