A Watauga County restaurant owner pleaded guilty Friday to charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Richard Xiong of 1034 24th St. Northeast, Hickory, pleaded guilty on June 25, 2004 to two counts of failure to file and failure to pay the state sales tax. Xiong is president of V+R Xiong, Inc. which operated Anthony’s Seafood in Boone.

Judge Kyle Austin issued Xiong a 30-day suspended sentence. Xiong was placed on three years, supervised probation. He was also ordered to pay $7,839.22 in restitution and court costs.

The charges against Xiong are the result of efforts by the Department’s Hickory Collections Office.

Last modified on: 10/31/07 03:43:53 PM .