Owner of Olympia dry cleaner in court on felony theft charges

The owner of an Olympia dry cleaner appeared in Thurston County Superior Court Tuesday on charges of first-degree felony theft stemming from accusations he defrauded Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries.

Prosecutors allege Byung Sung Kang, the owner of Century Cleaners, stole workers compensation benefits for over a year by faking the severity of injuries he had on the job and making false statements to L&I.

Kang is accused of stealing more than $21,000 in partial wage replacement payments from March 2018 to August 2019. During that period, L&I also paid nearly $50,000 in medical bills, interpreter fees and other benefits.

Kang told doctors he was injured at work in 2015 and began receiving time loss benefits in December 2016. According to an affidavit of probable cause, Kang filed 30 work status forms between 2016 and 2019 saying he had not and could not work because of his injury.

However, when L&I began investigating Kang in 2019 by surveilling him and his business, Kang was filmed performing the typical tasks of a dry cleaner: loading and unloading clothes; scrubbing clothes by hand; helping customers at the front counter; lifting and carrying a table; taking garbage across the parking lot to the trash bin; bending down to pick things up; and fixing a sign while standing on a ladder.

Multiple people, including L&I’s lead investigator in the case, observed Kang working at the business. A Washington State Patrol officer told investigators she had seen Kang working on a regular basis from 2016 to the present, according to the affidavit.

To receive time off benefits, Kang is accused of lying to medical providers, telling them he mostly lays at home watching TV. In October 2019, Kang visited a doctor for an exam, and according to the doctor, Kang “states he has not returned to work since the date of the injury.” After the appointment, he drove back to the cleaners to resume work, the affidavit reads.

Kang was arraigned on Tuesday before Judge Sharonda Amamilo and he pleaded not guilty to the first-degree felony theft charge.

Kang will have an omnibus hearing in August and then his trial is slated to begin on Sept. 20. If found guilty, Kang could spend up to 10 years in prison and could be ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.

This story was originally published June 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM.