The owner of a former Novi restaurant has been sentenced to nine months in jail for employing illegal immigrants who died in a fire at his home two years ago. Roger Tam and his wife, Ada Mei Lei, pleaded guilty last February to conspiracy and harboring undocumented workers for commercial advantage and private financial gain.

Along with the jail sentence, U.S. District Judge Marianne Batanee ordered Tam and his wife to pay $173,999 in restitution to the Department of Labor. Lei was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release. Tam will also have one year of supervised release following his jail term.

Killed in the Jan. 31, 2016 fire were Brayan Medina, 16, Lionel Rodriguez, 18, Simeon Nunez, 18, Miguel Diaz, 23, and Pablo Alvaro Encino, 23. The five Mexican nationals were hired by Tam to work at Kim’s Garden and lived in a basement of one of Tam’s home, located on Mystic Forest Drive in Novi.

The cause of the fire was determined to be careless smoking. Investigators found no working smoke detectors in the basement.

Prosecutors had sought a sentencing enhancement of several years in prison for “creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.”