Two Employers Indicted for Employing Unauthorized Workers
April 30th, 2010 by Brian D. Zuccaro
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to focus their efforts on employers and targeting entities that employ unauthorized workers.
A San Diego-area bakery was recently indicted on federal charges for knowingly hiring and then shielding undocumented alien workers for detection from ICE. The bakery’s owner and manager have been charged with 12 felony counts and if convicted, they face a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
After a worksite enforcement investigation conducted by ICE, the president and office manager of two staffing companies in suburban Chicago were charged with unlawfully hiring dozens of illegal aliens from their labor pool. In addition to hiring the illegal workers, the defendants allegedly paid their workers’ wages in cash and failed to deduct payroll taxes and other withholding by repeatedly withdrawing funds in the amount of $9,800. They hoped that by withdrawing less then $10,000 would avoid triggering any suspicion of wrong doing. If convicted, they also face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
These indictments show ICE’s attention on targeting businesses that fail to comply with immigration laws and worksite enforcement regulations.
