VINTON - Federal authorities are interested in seizing land owned by the operator of Chinese restaurants in Vinton and Toledo that were raided by immigration officials in November.

In court records filed Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa said the property represents the proceeds from the crime of harboring illegal aliens and are subject to forfeiture.

Listed in the filing are 307 O Ave., Vinton, which is apparently the home of Chan Gia Duong, and townhouse in Orlando, Fla.

Duong, who operates the Peony Chinese Restaurants, hasn't been charged in criminal court.

But four people who allegedly worked for him were detained on immigration violations during a November visit by agents with the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Three were from Mexico, and one was from China, according to ICE officials.

Some of the workers had lived in the apartment above the Vinton establishment, and an ICE agent described the living area as dirty and sparsely furnished in an affidavit.

"Multiple mattresses were on the floor in one bedroom. One room being used as a bedroom had a sheet for a door," the affidavit stated.

Two illegal workers interviewed by authorities said they started working at the Peony restaurants with the help of a Chicago employment agency. Some said they were paid $1,900 a month in cash with $200 deducted from the first check for the agency's fees.

Another employee was paid with a combination of cash and checks, records state. After working at the restaurant for all of 2007, only $550 of the worker's income was reported to the state, according to court records.

Other than Duong and his wife, Phung Ca Long, more than half of the workers at the restaurants were undocumented aliens at the time of the raid, records state.

Duong's family from California helped him run the Vinton restaurant when it first opened in 1996. But about four years ago he started using employment agencies when family assistance wasn't enough, records state.

ICE agents interviewed two men who came from Chicago to work for the Vinton restaurant in August. Another was interviewed in September.

Authorities searched the restaurants and Duong's home Nov. 18. They seized documents, financial instruments and money hidden in his basement.

The amount of cash wasn't disclosed.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.