Massage parlor owner gets probation for not paying taxes

Meilan Min dabbed her eyes with the white sleeve of her hoodie as the magistrate read her sentence: three years of probation and a $72,926.07 restitution fee.

Min, of Rossville, was sentenced Thursday morning on two counts of failing to pay taxes on her Lafayette massage parlor, Foot Lounge. A probable cause affidavit, in which she was originally charged with nine felony counts, said the Indiana Department of Revenue began an investigation into Foot Lounge in 2021.

Three employees were not licensed massage therapists and Foot Lounge was not registered as a retail merchant, and therefore not paying sales tax.

Two IDR auditors, Carole Bryant-Buchholz and Rick Albrecht, said in an IDR Explanation of Adjustments the employees were paid in cash and did not speak English well. The employees lived together in a one-bedroom apartment across the street from Foot Lounge that Min paid for with money deducted from their salaries.

The auditors also examined the notebook where Min had been keeping track of profits since 2017. They multiplied each year’s profits by 0.07, the Indiana sales tax rate, to determine how much she owed.

Min sat between her lawyer and a Mandarin interpreter during her sentencing. She was wearing blue jeans and tennis shoes and spoke in a near-whisper to her interpreter when she was addressed.

The hearing took less than 10 minutes. The prosecution and defense had agreed on a sentence recommendation ahead of time, and Min had already paid her hefty fee.

“The state (belives) that community service is not appropriate given the language barrier,” deputy prosecutor Natasha Corbett said.

“Do you know if you want to appeal your sentence?” Magistrate Judge Sarah Wyatt asked Min.

“No,” Min said after her interpreter had translated.

“No, you don’t know, or no you don’t want to appeal?” Wyatt said over the interpreter, who had just started to speak.

After several back-and-forths, Min was able to clarify that she did not want to appeal her sentence.

Min and her lawyer declined to comment.