Anchorage, Alaska – United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that an Anchorage
woman was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for filing a false federal income tax return.

On April 29, 2011, Senior United States District Judge H. Russel Holland sentenced Kisun
Hamilton, 54, of Anchorage, to five years of probation, 14 months of home confinement, and fined
$25,000. Hamilton was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $160,000 to IRS.

From 2000 to 2007, Hamilton skimmed approximately $1.5 million in currency received by her
restaurant, Tempura Inn, which was located at the Dimond Mall in Anchorage. Hamilton no longer owns
the business. She kept track of her fraud by maintaining a double set of books. One set reflected the
actual income of the business, while the amounts entered in the second set omitted significant amounts of
cash. The second set was the one she provided to her tax return preparer. The unreported cash ranged
from $500 to $2,000 a day. In all, Hamilton evaded nearly half a million dollars in taxes. With interest
and penalties, her total debt to the IRS is at least $1 million.

Some of the skimmed cash was used to partially pay employees under the table. By paying
employees half of their wages in cash under the table, she not only defrauded the government out of
income taxes, social security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance payments, she also cheated the
employees out of benefits to which they might eventually be entitled. Some of the remaining cash was
spent on jewelry, expensive vehicles, home remodeling, investment properties, and international travel.
$40,000 in cash was seized from her residence when IRS agents executed a search warrant in 2009, along
with double sets of books documenting the skim.

As stated in the Government’s Sentencing Memorandum, a person who fails to pay their fair share
of taxes has an unfair business advantage over those who do. Hamilton also defrauded the Dimond
Center mall, where her rent was partially determined by her gross receipts. By under-reporting receipts to
the mall, she defrauded her landlord, and only paid back the money due after being caught. The
defendant has made $320,000 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury, and was ordered by the Court to make
complete restitution, pay interest and penalties, and perform 100 hours of community service consisting
of outreach to the Korean and restaurant communities regarding the consequences of tax evasion.

Ms. Loeffler commended the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation for the
investigation leading to the prosecution of Hamilton.

Return to Top