A businessman convicted in an extortion trial nearly five years ago that revolved around the “vicious” beating of a west suburban restaurant owner over a $50,000 debt has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Jinhuang Zheng, 39, has already served much of that time, having been held in custody since his May 2018 conviction. His sentencing was delayed by appeals, the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent resignation of the judge who had presided over his case, records show. U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang declined to delay it further Thursday, despite a request from Zheng.
Before he was sentenced, Zheng told the judge, “I have already paid the price for what I have done.”
But Chang called Zheng’s crime “gravely serious.” He said the attack was “vicious” and “severe” and, though it lasted about 25 seconds, it “probably felt like an eternity” to the victim.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Zheng has been running the kitchens at Chicago’s downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center, according to his attorneys.
But back in the spring of 2014, Zheng told others the restaurant owner owed $50,000 to Zheng and his company, Ocean Fresh Seafood. Zheng met in his Porsche SUV in Chinatown with four other men — Sheng Quan Dong, Daniel Zhu, Bing Liang Chen and Mingrui Sun. They agreed to attack the restaurant owner if he did not pay up, prosecutors said.
Zheng also agreed to split the money they took from the restaurant owner with Chen, Sun and Zhu, prosecutors said.
All five men then traveled to Aurora in Zheng’s Porsche on June 1, 2014. Zheng went into the restaurant and spoke to the owner about the debt, according to the feds. The owner referred him to the legal system, but Zheng asked the man to speak with him outside.
The owner again refused to pay while speaking to the group of men outside the restaurant, and he tried to go back in. But prosecutors say that’s when Zheng pulled on the back of his shirt, initiating the attack. The men punched and kicked the restaurant owner even after he fell to the ground, records show. They only stopped when a passerby spoke up, prosecutors said.
The attack left the restaurant owner with cuts, scrapes and the imprint of a shoe on his face.
Afterward, Zheng paid for dinner and spa services for Dong, Zhu and Chen back in the Chicago area, records show.
During his trial, Zheng’s attorneys argued that Zheng was actually afraid of the restaurant owner and had tried several times to recover the money legitimately.
The other men allegedly involved in the attack also faced prosecution. Zhu was sentenced to five years in prison, Chen was sentenced to about three years and Dong was sentenced to nearly two. Sun was acquitted at trial.
