He admitted to the conspiracy that involved two other dry cleaner owners.
CAMDEN -- A Sicklerville man who admitted to hiring unauthorized immigrants at his Voorhees dry cleaning business and evading payroll taxes was sentenced to 15 months in prison Thursday.
Phillip Hui, 38, had pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in Camden to one count of harboring illegal aliens and one count of conspiracy to obstruct and impede the IRS relating to the failure to collect, account for and pay payroll taxes, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
According to court records, Hui conspired with his business partner at New Eastern Cleaners, Kathy Lei, as well as the owner of another business, Minute Man Dry Cleaning in Williamstown.
Lei, 36, of Williamstown, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Hui and is scheduled to be sentenced in October. It is not clear whether the Minute Man owner, identified in court documents only as B.L., has been charged.
Hui and Lei admitted that she co-owned a house on South Street in Williamstown with B.L. and one other person, where they housed immigrants whom they employed in both dry cleaning establishments in 2012 and 2013.
They at times employed a total of 13 or 14 unauthorized immigrants, court records show.
"They were required to work six days a week, approximately 10 hours a day and paid between $400 and $500 dollars per week," Fishman said. "Their rent was part of the employment compensation."
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Federal prosecutors alleged that by paying the workers in cash and not paying payroll tax, Hui and Lei cheated the U.S. Treasury out of $97,104.
"Hui knew he was required to verify that all of his employees were eligible to work in the United States, either as U.S. citizens or immigrants who had work authorization from Immigration and Customs Enforcement," Fishman said in the press release.
Instead, he said, Hui hired workers from Mexico and Guatemala who did not have legal status in the U.S.
Hui and Lei admitted that her tax returns for parts of 2012 and 2013 only included wages paid to legal employees.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.