A Catalina Island business owner has been ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to dozens of workers following a wage theft and tax fraud prosecution. Yueh Mei Tucey, also known as Nora Tucey, delivered the $1.5 million payment to a Los Angeles County criminal court during her sentencing and restitution hearing on September 28, according to an announcement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. In addition to the employee restitution, Tucey was ordered to pay $96,000 to the California Employment Development Department for underreporting worker wages.
The sentencing follows Tucey's September 15, 2025, no contest plea to seven felony counts of filing false and fraudulent returns, six felony counts of failure to pay taxes, and one felony count of conspiracy to commit wage theft. Tucey operated multiple hotels and restaurants in Avalon on Catalina Island, where she employed and housed many of her workers.
According to state and local investigators, Tucey took advantage of vulnerable employees, many of whom were immigrants. Because many workers also rented housing from Tucey, she maintained a policy requiring them to vacate their rentals if their employment ended, increasing their vulnerability to exploitation. A criminal investigation by the California Labor Commissioner's Office uncovered a sophisticated scheme to underpay workers. The tactics included using payroll aliases to hide overtime hours and requiring employees to work at multiple businesses on the same day, sometimes resulting in workdays of up to 18 hours.
The case was prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Economic and Labor Justice Unit, which was established in 2023 to combat wage theft and labor trafficking.
The practical takeaway
This enforcement case concerns unpaid wages and underreported worker wages at hotels and restaurants on Catalina Island. The official announcement describes payroll aliases used to hide overtime hours and employees working at multiple businesses on the same day. The restitution check was delivered to the court at the September 28 hearing; the district attorney said the office looked forward to working with its partners to disburse the funds to victims. The source provides the documented conduct, prosecution history, and restitution amounts.