Salon Owner Indicted in Retirement Funds Scam

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A Pasadena businessman has been indicted 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 federal grand jury in Los Angeles 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 indictment, Wong collectively withheld more than $26,000 from his employees' paychecks that was supposed to fund a company-sponsored retirement plan between 2004 and 2008.

Instead of forwarding the money, however, prosecutors say Wong used the funds for his own
benefit.

Wong was arrested Sept. 7 at his home, held overnight at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, and arraigned the following day, Labor Department spokesman Jose A. Carnevali said.

Wong pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment, and was released on a $50,000 bond, Carnevali said. Trial is scheduled for Oct. 19 in U.S. District Court.

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