Jefferson City Restaurant Owner Charged with Harboring Illegal Aliens

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A Jefferson City, Mo., man was charged in federal court for harboring illegal aliens.

Danny Wei Cheng, 46, self-surrendered on an arrest warrant related to a criminal complaint signed June 18, 2026, by Chief United States Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr. Cheng, who owns Dragon Kitchen, a Chinese Buffet in Jefferson City, is accused of employing, housing, and transporting multiple illegal aliens.

The complaint alleges that Cheng housed multiple illegal aliens in a residential home owned by Cheng in Jefferson City. The residence was divided into at least eight rooms using plywood and other materials. The City of Jefferson City has since condemned the home. Individuals who worked for Cheng transported illegal aliens to and from work utilizing a van owned by Cheng.

The charges contained in this criminal complaint are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty it is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service, and the Jefferson City Police Department.

Homeland Security Task Force

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Kansas City comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.