Owner of Richie's convicted for using employee wage taxes for personal use, gambling

CINCINNATI — The owner of a Cincinnati-area fried chicken restaurant chain has been found guilty of using his employees' wage taxes for his own personal use instead of paying those taxes to the government, according to a release from the US Department of Justice.

Richard Bhoolai was convicted by a federal jury on Monday after a five-day trial, according to the DOJ. His sentencing has not been scheduled yet, but he could face roughly 40 years in prison after the jury found him guilty of eight counts of failing to pay taxes.

According to federal officials and the IRS, which investigated the case, Bhoolai withheld Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from employees at three Richie's locations between "at least" 2017 and 2018. Instead of paying those wage taxes over to the IRS, however, federal officials said he used the money for "his personal benefit, including gambling."

The IRS said when Bhoolai was arrested that he'd spent more than $1 million of his business' proceeds on gambling.

Before then, officials said Bhoolai had neglected to pay the same taxes in earlier years and the IRS had assessed a penalty against him for it.

Known for its chicken and fish, Bhoolai started Richie's Chicken in the 1980s. There are now multiple locations in the Cincinnati area, including a daughter brand, Richie's Chicken and Soul.