It's not good.
But I'd be willing to bet the man doesn't sit down and do the books.
This is one of the differences between middle class & wealthy. Often people in the middle income bracket manage their own bills & finances. But the wealthier you get, the more likely it is you'll have other people-business managers and the like-who will do all that for you. That's why you sometimes read of pop stars and such being ripped off by their business managers, because they have left all the finances in someone else's hands.
From what I have read, the problems came to light when there was a change in management and they self-reported the problems. It seems they were not classifying jobs correctly and not keeping proper records of hours worked and this is common in the hospitality industry.
So I don't know that George would have had much of a clue that the wages weren't being done properly till the new manager reported the problems. But that's when George should have jumped in quickly to have accountants poring over the books and fixing any mistakes. But it's like anything else, hindsight is an exact science. I doubt he appreciated the size of the problem or the need for speed.
I can guarantee his eating establishments aren't the only ones not paying their workers enough. The McDonald's near me routinely required it's teen workers to stay after hours to mop & clean the store and no one was paid a cent for that extra time, which often amounted to at least 40 minutes after each shift. The workers there hated getting the late shift.
I know of a petrol station (well known brand) where the workers don't get any pay loading for things like public holidays etc
As in George's restaurants, the main people affected are casual workers and I think that's why a lot of businesses can be a bit slack, they don't ever face consequences as casual staff come and go.
