Gladys Knight’s son owes $1 million in taxes for his Georgia restaurants, feds say
The former owner of Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles — and son of the famous soul singer — is going to federal prison after prosecutors said he failed to pay more than $1 million in taxes on multiple restaurants he owned.
Shanga A. Hankerson, the 45-year-old son of singer Gladys Knight and producer Barry Hankerson, was sentenced Nov. 3 to two years in prison followed by a year of supervised release on charges of willful failure to remit payroll taxes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said in a news release.
Hankerson was also ordered to pay nearly $1.04 million in restitution.
“I did not follow some of the advice that some members of my team wanted me to take because I felt like I could figure out a way to win and still make everyone happy,” Hankerson told the judge in a letter to the court before his sentencing. “I was wrong.”
A public defender representing him did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Nov. 5.
Hankerson opened his first restaurant using his mother’s name in Atlanta in 1997. Four years later, his attorney said in court filings, he opened a second location in Lithonia, Georgia. By 2014, Hankerson had three additional restaurants — one in Washington, D.C.; one in Johns Creek, Georgia; and one in Cascade, Georgia.
Hankerson’s defense attorney said he opened the restaurant at the behest of his father, who reportedly told him he “wanted to see waffles all over the world.”
Prosecutors said Hankerson was responsible for withholding and paying over payroll taxes from his employees as the sole owner of Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles. When he fell behind in 2013, the Internal Revenue Service began an investigation.
By that time, prosecutors said, only three of his five restaurants remained open.
Officers with the IRS met with Hankerson several times between 2014 and 2016, the government said, and he “accepted full responsibility for the delinquent taxes.” Still, they went unpaid.
From 2013 to 2016, Hankerson is accused of failing to pay $499,823 in payroll taxes and $539,486 in employment taxes.
In sentencing documents, prosecutors said Hankerson hired “several competent business managers” who “repeatedly pleaded with him to stop taking company money so that taxes could properly be paid.”
“These managers went so far as to shuffle money between accounts and hide profits so that the business could honor its financial obligations before Defendant had a chance to withdraw the funds for himself,” the government said. “However, Defendant’s greed persisted, and he continued to siphon money away from the business, making it impossible for the company to fulfill its tax obligations.”
Instead of paying the taxes, Hankerson is accused of using the money on travel, private school tuition and “personal out of town expenses.”
Hankerson waived his right to an indictment, and he pleaded guilty in July, court filings show.
Prosecutors requested a prison sentence of 18 months, but a defense attorney representing Hankerson said it should be less.
His lawyer pointed to a troubled past that included his parents’ divorce when Hankerson was 2 years old and severe weight gain as an adolescent. She said his restaurants remained successful for the first 16 years they were in operation, and he reportedly relied on the support of several chief financial officers as well as his father to keep them running.
But his father largely checked out after a death in the family, court filings state, and Hankerson got in over his head trying to operate more than one restaurant.
The state of Georgia ultimately seized his restaurants in 2016 and appointed a receiver to handle the business assets, Hankerson’s attorney said.
She told the judge his actions were driven by “ambitious dreams rather than cold-hearted greed.”
“In sum, Mr. Hankerson committed this offense in the depths of being overwhelmed and trying to expand a business when it was not in his best interest,” his attorney said. “Mr. Hankerson’s poor decision-making skills and lack of expertise, ultimately led to his demise.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Gladys Knight’s son owes $1 million in taxes for his Georgia restaurants, feds say."
