Illegal Border Crossings Today:

Archives of Employer Sanctions 2007

Gavel and Flag

June 2012

  • November 2007 — Siddhartha “Sam” Shah, owner of Super Eight Motels, pleaded guilty to smuggling and harboring illegal aliens on August 23rd in Madison, Wisconsin. The judge sentenced Shah to twenty-one months in prison and a $20,000 fine. (DHS/ICE Press Release, November 27, 2007) 
  • November 2007 — Joette Reidy, an officer of Lochirco Fruit and Produce, pled guilty to the federal charges of hiring illegal aliens in Missouri and will be sentenced in February. Additionally, the company has also pled guilty and agreed to a 99, 000 fine and forfeit 500, 000 dollars. (The Associated Press, November 21) 
  • November 2007 — Robert Pratt, a contractor at Fisher Homes, pleaded guilty to supplying illegal immigrant workers, in Covington Kentucky. He was sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison on November 15th and now faces charges of fraud for underpayment of employment taxes. (DHS/ICE Press Release, November 15, 2007) 
  • November 2007 — Christina A. Flocken, controller of Rosenbaum-Cunningham International Inc., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the federal government and to harboring illegal aliens. Flocken could be sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine plus a share of a restitution judgment exceeding $15 million. (DHS/ICE Press Release, November 07, 2007) 
  • October 2007 — Dean A. Hedges, owner of Hedges Landscape Specialist Inc., Exterior Design Inc., and Performance Irrigation LLC, pleaded guilty to knowingly employing illegal aliens, in Crestwood Kentucky. If convicted, Hedges could face a $24,000 fine and six months imprisonment or up to five years probation. Hedges has already agreed to forfeit $147,000 seized from his corporate bank accounts. (DHS/ICE Press Release, October 03, 2007) 
  • August 2007 — Jiang Fei Jiang, a Fairfield (OH) restaurant owner, was sentenced to a year in prison and a penalty of $3,000 for employing illegal aliens. He was also found to be an illegal alien himself and will be deported upon release. (WCPO News, August 29, 2007)
  • July 2007 — Joseph Edward Fulmer, owner of the Stitching Post, pleaded guilty to encouraging and inducing illegal aliens to come to the United States, harboring illegal aliens, misuse of government documents, and engaging in a pattern of employing illegal aliens. In exchange for the plea, the judge sentenced him to six months of prison, forfeiture of his residence, and one hundred hours of community service. (DHS/ICE Press Release, July 23, 2007) 
  • July 2007 — Abelino Chicas, systems manager for the Pallet Management Division of IFCO Systems North America (IFCO), pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the transportation and harboring of illegal aliens in Albany, New York. Chicas could be sentenced up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised relief. (DHS/ICE Press Release, July 16, 2007) A total of 16 managers and executives have been convicted; 5 sentenced to pay a fine and the remaining 11 awaited sentencing as of December 2008 and a fine of over $20,000,000 has been assessed.
  • July 2007 — Gerardo Dominguez-Chacon, former supervisor for Quality Service Integrity Inc. (QSI) at the Cargill Pork Processing Plant, pleaded guilty to harboring illegal aliens and aiding aggravated identity fraud in Springfield, Illinois. For the offense of harboring illegal aliens, the maximum statutory penalty is 10 years and a $250,000 maximum fine. For aiding aggravated identity theft, the penalty is a mandatory two years to be served consecutive to any other term of imprisonment ordered except other violations of aiding aggravated identity fraud. (DHS/ICE Press Release, July 12, 2007) 
  • April 2007 — Jose Calhelha, former owner of ten Connecticut Dunkin’ Donuts, pleaded guilty to illegally encouraging aliens to come to the United Sates and illegally harboring aliens in Guilford Connecticut on December 29th. In exchange for his plea, he was sentenced to serve ten months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised relief and fined one million dollars in monetary damage. (DHS/ICE Press Release, April 30, 2007) 
  • March 2007 — Melvin Kay, president of Golden State Corporation, pleaded guilty to knowingly employing illegal aliens in December 2006 in California. In exchange for his plea, he was sentenced to three years probation, one hundred and eighty days of home confinement, and a hundred thousand dollar fine. Additionally, 4.7 million dollars of the company’s assets are being forfeited to the government. (DHS/ICE Press Release, March 28, 2007) 
  • March 2007 — Jin Chai Lin, illegal alien from China, pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring illegal workers for his local restaurant on December 19th in Radcliffe, Kentucky. In exchange for his plea, he was sentenced to two years in prison, six months of home confinement, and forfeiture of $42,788. As an illegal alien, he will be placed in deportation proceedings after he completes his sentence. (DHS/ICE Press Release, March 26, 2007) 
  • January 2007 — Cong Ling (Amy) Huang, owner of Osaka Japanese steakhouse, pleaded guilty on behalf of the company in Hot Springs, Arkansas. According to court documents, she did not review employees’ work authorization documents when they were hired. As part of the plea agreement, a fine of $45,000 has been recommended by the court. (DHS/ICE Press Release Janaury 18, 2007) 
  • January 2007 — Jing Fei Jiang, owner of Bee’s Buffet, pleaded guilty to transporting and harboring an illegal alien to work in his restaurant, and making a false statement on an application for a small business loan in Cincinnati. According to the plea agreement Jiang, an illegal immigrant once deported, also agreed to forfeit property, cash, content of three bank accounts, and a vehicle. After serving his prison time, Jiang faces deportation. (DHS/ICE Press Release, January 11, 2007)