PHOENIX, AZ – Federal agents raided four popular sushi restaurants and four residential properties across the Phoenix metropolitan area this week, arresting the owner and managers on charges they ran a human trafficking operation that forced undocumented immigrants to work seven days a week with no time off.
Yung Lau, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from China, allegedly operated the scheme through his Sakura Sushi restaurants in Gilbert, Mesa, and Phoenix, along with Akita Sushi in Scottsdale. Managers Zhen Liu and Qin Liu, identified in court documents as Lau’s brother, were also taken into custody.
According to federal authorities, the operation maintained “stash houses” where undocumented workers were crammed into residential properties and transported to the restaurants each day in white vans. Investigators say approximately 10 workers lived at just one of the Tempe locations.
Neighbors had grown suspicious of the operation long before the raids. Brandy Forman, who lived near one of the stash houses, told investigators she noticed unusual activity for years. “They had a white van and it would leave at 9 a.m. and come back at 9 p.m.-ish,” she said, adding that the occupants were always “looking down, no eye contact.”
Another neighbor, Gary Gallagher, described similar observations. “They were very self-conscious; if you looked at them, they turned their back,” he said. Multiple residents reported calling police about the suspicious activity as early as 2023, though no action was taken until federal agents became involved.
ICE launched its investigation in March 2025 after receiving tips about potential labor trafficking at the restaurant locations. The probe revealed workers were allegedly given no days off and lived under cramped conditions that investigators characterized as exploitative.
Lau, Zhen Liu, and Qin Liu face charges of harboring illegal aliens and knowingly employing unauthorized workers. They are scheduled to appear in federal court on December 30 for their initial hearing.
The restaurants have been shuttered pending the investigation, leaving regular customers stunned to learn about the allegations against the popular sushi chain.
