Company's Officials Plead Guilty to Immigration Violations
Posted Oct 03, 2008
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), through the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, recently announced the prosecution of the Shipley Do-Nut Flour and Supply Company (Shipley Do-Nut), its president, and three managers for immigration law violations. This announcement was initially made in a press conference on August 28, 2008, followed by a press release later that day.
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Prosecution for I-9 Violations and Unauthorized Workers
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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began investigating this company in January 2008, after a civil lawsuit alleged that the company had engaged in employment discrimination. This lawsuit led ICE to interview company workers and to investigate the company's Employer Review and Verification Forms (Form I-9) and Social Security Administration (SSA) "no-match" letters. Regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers may recall previous articles on no-match letters, including our August 17, 2007 NewsBrief entitled, Liability for Employers who Receive No-Match Letters.
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Hiring and Retaining Undocumented Foreign Workers
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The DOJ alleged that, by April 2008, more than 40 percent of the company's workforce was comprised of undocumented foreign nationals, and that the Form I-9s for these workers were either deficient or completed years after a foreign worker was hired. The company also appeared to have ignored SSA no-match letters and failed to take corrective action. Some of the company's Form I-9s had incorrect or even fraudulent names and social security numbers listed on them or were based on fraudulent documents.
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ICE Raid Results in Arrests of Employees and Risk to Property
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An April 2008 raid by ICE agents at one of the company's Houston, TX facilities resulted in the arrest of 27 undocumented foreign nationals. All of these undocumented workers were employed and housed by the company at or near its warehouse. The company maintained nine houses for such workers, which were a subject of a DOJ forfeiture notice.
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Company Pleads Guilty and Faces Criminal Penalties
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As part of its plea agreement (PDF 544KB), available on the DOJ WebSite, the company pleaded guilty through its president on September 5, 2008 to one count of conspiring to harbor illegal aliens. This is separate from charges against the individuals involved. The company faces a maximum fine of $500,000 and up to five years probation at sentencing, which is scheduled for December 19, 2008. The company will also likely pay $1,334,000 (the total value of the properties, according to ICE), in order to avoid forfeiture of the nine properties used to house the undocumented workers. These properties were subject to forfeiture, as they were used to carry out the crime.
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Managers Plead Guilty
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A former company warehouse manager pleaded guilty along with the company's current warehouse manager and the current warehouse supervisor. All three men pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges of hiring or continuing to employ undocumented foreign nationals who were not authorized to work in the U.S. The three men entered were all convicted and sentenced to 6 months of probation. They were each fined between $1,000 and $2,000.
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Company President Pleads Guilty
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The president of Shipley Do-Nut pleaded guilty on August 28, 2008 to a charge of continuing to employ undocumented aliens. He admitted that he was responsible for the oversight and management of the company since he became its president in March 2005. He also admitted to writing and signing two letters on behalf of two workers he knew were not authorized to work in the U.S. and that he continued to employ them. The company's president was sentenced to 6 months probation and fined $6,000.
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Conclusion
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The Murthy Law Firm reports the results of this serious ICE investigation and prosecution to highlight the potential consequences to employers who ignore or violate U.S. immigration laws and to undocumented workers who are also in violation of the law. In the current environment of increased investigations and employer audits, every employer, regardless of size or industry, needs to protect itself by ensuring thorough and ongoing compliance with all relevant laws and regulations related to the hiring and verification of employment eligibility of workers.