Duo Allegedly Underpaid Employees by $60,000
The owners of a mediterranean restaurant in West Hempstead were charged with allegedly underpaying their employees by more than $60,000 and failing to contribute to the New York State Unemployment Insurance program. The prosecution of the defendants is the first under the amended Grand Larceny statute in Nassau County, which includes “compensation for labor services” in the definition of property. The amendment, which was signed into law on September 6, 2023, strengthens criminal penalties for wage theft by allowing prosecutors to combine wage underpayments or improper wage payments for an entire workforce into a single grand larceny charge.
According to the charges, the defendants allegedly underpaid nine former employees of the Anatolia Mediterranean & Grill, located at 183 Hempstead Avenue in West Hempstead, between on or about September 6, 2023, and April 31, 2024.
Two former employees, a delivery driver and a food preparer, were allegedly underpaid by more than $10,000 and $11,000, respectively. The seven other employees’ underpayments range from $1,696 to $9,936.
In addition to the alleged wage underpayments, records obtained from the New York State Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance Division show that Red Lions Food Corp. allegedly failed to pay its unemployment insurance contributions since September 2022. According to the latest collection notice dated June 21, 2024, the business had allegedly underpaid its unemployment insurance contributions by approximately $13,989.11.
Mahmut Unver, a.k.a. Max Unver, and Red Lions Food Corp., which operates as Anatolia Mediterranean & Grill, were arraigned on November 13, 2024, before Judge Geoffrey Prime on charges of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (a C felony), Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree (an E felony), Failure to Pay Wages When Due Under Labor Law (an unclassified misdemeanor), and Willful Failure to Pay Contributions (an unclassified misdemeanor). They pleaded not guilty and are due back in court on January 6, 2025. Co-defendant John Yilmaz, a.k.a. Canturk Yilmaz, was arraigned on November 20 before Judge Geoffrey Prime on the same charges. He pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on December 13, 2024.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 5 to 15 years in prison.
“My office does not tolerate the exploitation of hard-working employees,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “By allegedly underpaying their restaurant workers by more than $60,000 in the span of seven months, Mahmut Unver and John Yilmaz not only violated the law, but they undermined the dignity and value of those who helped build their business. The amended Grand Larceny statute in the State of New York, which now considers wage theft a form of larceny, reinforces our commitment to holding employers accountable and ensuring justice for employees who are deprived of the wages they rightfully deserve.”