Taco Chain’s Owners Face Charges
The owners of an Antelope Valley fast-food chain face criminal charges for violation of state workers’ compensation laws in two counties.
The local Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed two misdemeanor charges Friday against Taco Tec owners Armando Sanchez, Estrella Sanchez and Pat Stewart for failing to provide workers’ comp insurance for employees at two restaurants in Lancaster.
An arraignment is set for June 25.
The charges against Taco Tec follow a recent civil suit filed by the Kern County district attorney’s office in Bakersfield. Several Taco Tec outlets in Kern County have been under investigation for alleged state labor code violations, as well as alleged health code violations.
The state Employment Development Department is also investigating the restaurant owners for failing to forward taxes withheld from employees’ pay, a felony violation, said C. M. Starr, a Kern County deputy district attorney. Sanchez was arrested on the charge Monday and released on $15,000 bail. He faces arraignment June 21.
Starr said about $1 million in salaries was paid out for which taxes were not paid.
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