Federal prosecutors charged two identical twin brothers for failing to report over $1.1 million in income to the IRS, which included money they earned from a golf tee-time brokering business they were operating in Los Angeles and Orange County.
The 41-year-old brothers, both MRI technicians from Los Angeles County, were arrested on a 10-count federal grand jury indictment, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Se Youn “Steve” Kim, of Buena Park, was charged with two counts of tax evasion, one count of making and subscribing to a false tax document and two counts of willful failure to pay tax, prosecutors said.
They also said that his brother, Hee Youn “Ted” Kim, of Pomona, was charged with two counts of tax evasion and three counts of willful failure to pay tax.
The brothers were arrested on Thursday, September 11, and arraigned that same day. They both pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to appear in court on November 4. They were ordered released on $20,000 bond by a federal magistrate, the DOJ’s news release said.
“According to the indictment … between 2021 and 2023, the Kim brothers operated a golf tee time brokering business in which they reserved golf tee times online, including at public golf courses, and resold them to members of the public for a fee, frequently in violation of municipal regulations,” the release said.
Related: LA County golf courses to require reservation fee to stop tee-time brokers
Prosecutors said that the brothers marketed, solicited and communicated with customers on social media, including an instant messaging application called KakaoTalk.
They said that the Kim brothers would reserve thousands of tee times for resale at golf courses across the nation, including 17 different public courses in Southern California.
“The brothers created a monopoly of Los Angeles and Orange County area golf course tee times by securing the most sought-after early morning slots, often within seconds of their release to the public,” the DOJ’s release said. “As a result, the brothers made it more difficult and more expensive for members of the public to reserve tee times at these courses without paying them an additional booking fee.”
They said it happened particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that their clients were often told to pay the reservation fees to the brothers’ personal accounts, including through Zelle and Venmo. Those funds were then transferred to their bank accounts.
In June 2022, Steve Kim incorporated a Buena Park-based business called Birdie Tour Inc. He served as its CEO and CFO, while Ted Kim acted as its secretary. They obtained an employer identification number from the IRS and opened a bank account in the business’s name, prosecutors said.
Related: Los Angeles officials crack down on city golf course tee time brokers
“In total, between 2021 and 2023, the Kim brothers earned nearly $700,000 from their tee time brokering business,” the DOJ said. “Despite earning substantial income and owing taxes from this business, and from their job as MRI technicians, the brothers willfully failed to report a combined total of more than $1.1 million in income to the IRS for tax years 2022 and 2023.”
Prosecutors said that the brothers used the money on a timeshare in Hawaii, made purchases from high-end brands like Prada and Louis Vuitton and purchased luxury cars.
If convicted as charged, each faces up to five years in federal prison for tax evasion and an additional year for each count of willful failure to pay tax. Steve Kim also faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years for making and subscribing a false tax document, prosecutors said.