The owner of Johnny’s Peking Tokyo, a popular sushi spot in Mystic, was sentenced Wednesday to three years probation and must pay nearly $100,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to filing false tax returns.

Yi Di Lin, also known as Johnny Lin, 49, of Mystic, was sentenced by a U.S. District judge in Bridgeport to the probation and the $97,500 restitution comprised of the $92,000 owed to the Internal Revenue Service and a $5,500 fine for federal tax offenses.

In 2019, Lin began using a payroll processing company to pay employees but he “failed to inform the payroll company about the existence of the employees he only paid in cash and the amount of cash he paid to employees,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Connecticut.

“As a result, the payroll company prepared and filed false forms…for four quarters in 2019 and 2020, and appropriate payroll taxes were not remitted to the IRS,” the release continues. “The resulting loss to the IRS was $92,093. On July 28, 2022, Lin pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.”

Lin has already paid the more than $92,000 in direct restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney. Lin’s case was investigated by the IRS.