NEWS BRIEF: Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles owner going to prison for tax evasion

The former owner of Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles will spend time behind bars for not paying payroll taxes for his employees. Shanga Hankerson, the singer’s son, failed to fully remit more than $1 million in payroll taxes due to the I.R.S. from 2012 to 2016, according to the Justice Department. The restaurateur opened the first Chicken and Waffles location in 1997 in Atlanta and then expanded to other locations in Georgia and Washington, D.C. The Georgia Department of Revenue suspended the chain’s operations in 2016 and arrested Hankerson, after which Knight sued him to have her name removed from the business. Hankerson’s employees reportedly told investigators the money was used for drugs and sex parties instead of taxes. U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown sentenced Hankerson, 45, to two years in prison plus one year of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $1,039,310.65 in restitution. Hankerson was convicted in July 2021 after pleading guilty. justice.gov