Brewer -
The manager of a Chinese buffet restaurant in Brewer is accused of harboring illegal aliens to work at the restaurant.
28-year-old Mei Ya Zhang made her first court appearance Wednesday in federal court in Bangor in connection with an investigation into the Twin Super Buffet.
Court documents say she told a federal agent she worked for her uncle, the owner of the restaurant, and part of her job was to hire employees.
She reportedly told the agent she knew they were Hispanic workers in the U-S illegally and that they lived at a so-called safe house in Brewer.
Zhang was released on $10,000 unsecured bond and ordered to give up her passport.
Since 2007, federal prosecutors have been investigating the owners of a number of Chinese restaurants in Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode island.
The Zhang organization is accused of hiring and harboring illegal aliens, lying on federal tax returns and skimming millions of dollars in cash from its restaurants, which includes the Super China Buffet in Waterville, too.
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