Feds Seek Seizure Of Business Charged With Employing Illegal Aliens

Federal authorities have taken the unusual step of seeking the forfeiture of an actual business that is suspected of employing illegal aliens. The French Gourmet, a San Diego-area bakery, its president and a manager have been charged with conspiring to engage in a pattern or practice of hiring and continuing to employee unauthorized workers (a misdemeanor) in addition to 14 felony counts, including making false statements and shielding undocumented alien employees from detection.

According to the indictment, the owner and managers, certified on the firm's Employment Verification Forms (I-9) that the documents they examined appeared to be genuine, and to the best of the their knowledge, the employees listed on the I-9 were eligible to work in the United States. They then place the workers on the company's payroll and paid them by paycheck until they received "No Match" letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA) advising that the Social Security numbers being used by the employees did not match the names of the rightful owners of those numbers. The indictment goes on to allege that after receiving the "no match" letters, the company conspired to pay the undocumented employees in cash until the workers produced a new set of employment documents with different Social Security numbers.

In May 2008, ICE agents executed a federal search warrant at The French Gourmet and arrested 18 undocumented workers. During the searches, ICE agents seized employee and payroll records as evidence in the criminal case.

"Employers have a responsibility for maintaining the integrity of their workforce," said Mike Carney, acting special agent in charge for ICE Office of Investigations in San Diego. "This indictment shows ICE's commitment to holding businesses accountable when they repeatedly ignore immigration laws as it relates to their workforce. The goal of our enforcement effort is two-fold, first to reduce the demand for illegal employment and, second, to protect job opportunities for the nation's lawful workforce."

ICE has reported that in fiscal year 2009, worksite investigations resulted in a total of 410 criminal arrests, including 114 management personnel.

Other Recent ICE Actions

Missouri Roofing Company

On February 3, 2010, the owner of a Bolivar, Missouri, roofing company was sentenced in federal court to forfeit more than $180,000.00 and pay a $36,000.00 fine for knowingly hiring illegal aliens following a worksite enforcement investigation...