Man fined nearly $107,000 for illegal business after food sickens Davis exchange students
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YOLO COUNTY, CA (KTXL) — A West Sacramento man will have to pay more than $100,000 dollars in fines and penalties for illegally running a food delivery service.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office said the food was targeted to Chinese exchange students at the University of California, Davis. It was sold and delivered by a business called Anna’s Kitchen.
“The food was familiar to these students,” said Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Rachel Hilzinger.
The service was advertised on an app called WeChat, a popular form of communication for Chinese speakers abroad.
Last summer, some customers say the food made them sick.
“Some of these student complaints were essentially saying that the individual themselves had gotten sick after eating food that they had ordered from Anna’s Kitchen or they had a friend or a roommate or another student that they went to class with who had also become ill after ordering and consuming food from Anna’s Kitchen,” Hilzinger told FOX40.
After the Yolo County Environmental Health Division was notified, the DA’s office got involved. An investigation found the man who ran Anna’s Kitchen, Xin Jiang, did not have a permit to operate the business.
Jiang will now have to pay nearly $107,000 to the county, equaling $90,000 in fines and $16,000 to reimburse the county for its investigation.
UC Davis said in a statement released Tuesday night that they are “grateful for the District Attorney’s work in investigating and settling this case.”
Jiang is also an employee at a legitimate business, Hunan Bar and Restaurant in Davis. While running Anna’s Kitchen, Jiang had what he called a “VIP card,” which essentially let customers buy meals from the restaurant in advance.
Now, the owner of Hunan Bar and Restaurant says anyone who still has money left on their VIP card can get their money back or use it as credit at the restaurant.
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