Posted on 02/26/2007 3:52:16 AM PST by Millicent_Hornswaggle
Three top officials of a nationwide janitorial service based in West Palm Beach were charged Thursday with tax fraud and employing undocumented immigrants, in a federal probe that rounded up more than 200 undocumented workers across the nation.
The indictment accuses Rosenbaum-Cunningham International, or RCI, with knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants and avoiding payment of more than $18.6 million in federal taxes in a cleaning business whose clients included the House of Blues, Hard Rock Cafe, ESPN Zone, China Grill, Dave & Busters and other national chains. The business took in more than $54.3 million between 2001 and 2005, federal officials said.
RCI's co-owners, Edward Scott Cunningham, 43, of West Palm Beach, and Richard M. Rosenbaum, 60, of Longwood, and controller Christina A. Flocken, 59, of Longwood, are charged in a 23-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the United States, evading payment of federal employment taxes and harboring illegal aliens for profit. Convictions on all charges could lead to 15-year prison sentences for the three.
In addition, more than 200 undocumented workers were apprehended Wednesday night at 63 RCI job sites around the country, including in Atlanta, Lawrenceville, Marietta and Duluth in Georgia and Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Plano, Frisco and Dallas in Texas, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They have been detained awaiting deportation procedures.
`HIRED ON THE SPOT'
The deliberate hiring of an undocumented workforce ''was essential to the success of their scheme,'' the indictment charges. ``Illegal aliens were willing to be paid in cash, without the creation of payroll records; they could be hired on the spot, without the creation of any employment records, and could be fired at will without likely legal recourse, and they were highly unlikely to report the irregular nature of their employment to any authority.''
The indictment says the defendants deliberately did not collect or pay federal income withholding taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes and unemployment taxes on these wages as required by federal law.
They are also charged with directing a supervisor to obtain 20 fraudulent Permanent Resident Cards -- so-called ''green cards'' -- for their undocumented workers when a client, a resort in Michigan, inquired about their status.
The supervisor even put in an expense form for the $3,460.43 that these fraudulent cards cost and received a $1,000 bonus as a reward for obtaining them, the indictment shows.
TAX EVASION
The defendants evaded payment of more than $18.6 million in federal employment taxes and set up shell companies called Ricurt Inc., Sunchaser Service Corpor. and Monker LLC to hide these illegal funds, the indictment said.
''They used the funds to buy luxury boats and vehicles, to purchase lavish homes in Florida and California, to acquire race horses and pay for their maintenance . . . and generally to support extravagant spending and lifestyle costs,'' the indictment said.
The case reflects an effort to go after employers who deliberately hire illegal workers, said Julie Myers, assistant secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
''Employers who brazenly violate our immigration laws will be held accountable for their illicit actions,'' she said.
The undocumented workers came from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Haiti, federal officials said. RCI would use on-site managers -- ''most of whom were illegal aliens themselves'' -- who spoke Spanish and English to ensure that the services were provided to the clients, the indictment said. ``They also paid the RCI crews in cash and on a weekly basis.''
Upon conviction, the defendants would be liable for the $54 million obtained as a result of their activities. The could also be forced to forfeit their personal property, including that at 6106 Wildcat Run in West Palm Beach, which is titled to Cunningham and his wife, Maria Christina Cunningham.
What? Illegals here in South Florida?
Shocked, yes I'm shocked.
There are hundreds of business's operating under this business plan. They are easy for the IRS to identify..by ratios. Any service business needs a high percentage of labor content..anyone below that average needs to be investigated. That will never happen..too many rice bowls would be broken. Our companies cleaning contractor operated the same way. Legit bills..but illegal workers.
An investigation of theft by the local police exposed them to ICE...sorry about that.
"An investigation of theft by the local police exposed them to ICE...sorry about that."
It has been my experience that the illegals working for so-called "cleaning", or "janitorial" services spend more time digging through the trash receptacles for recyclables and stealing supplies such as paper towels, toilet tissues, soaps, and other materials then they do cleaning the facilities they are hired to clean. Numerous times I have been compelled to protest unsanitary facilities that are allegedly maintained by these cleaning services.
I live about 50 miles north of West Palm Beach.
15 miles from Indiantown.
Nearly the whole of Indiantown is illegals.
I.N.S. doesn't have to go after businesses, just go and block exits from Indiantown and check everyone in the city and start deporting.
There are so many illegals in Florida it is disgusting.
Places all over that reek of third world.
Tell me again about illegals paying taxes and so they should be made citizens. After 6 years in office I do blame Bush and his administration.
Is it ironic that this happened in West Palm Beach,a liberal bastion of higher morality and sensibility?Or does their morality shut down at the prospect of saving a buck?
"It has been my experience that the illegals working for so-called "cleaning", or "janitorial" services spend more time digging through the trash receptacles...."
If this is the case the management of that service should be removed. The Janitorial Management where I work knows this is the type of thing that kills their business, so they fire people just being in the wrong place while cleaning the buildings. The cleaning is also to a much a higher standard.
Another thing can be done is keep the cleaning supplies contract separate from the labor contract - different Vendor and all. You can more easily monitor theft this way.
If you look at the work ethic of the lower socioeconomic class in the U.S you understand that these folks work habits suck.
Most of the illegals do jobs I know I wouldn't do and those with little or no education or social skills that grew up here aren't worth the trouble or money it costs to hire them.
Much as I am against illegals they do work their butts off, shut their mouths and do whatever job they can get.
Then they send whatever they can back to whatever craphole they came from where where their families use that pitance to provide for the whole extended family.
Although Bush can't be assigned the blame for starting this mess we can point a finger at him for not stopping the flow of illegals and in fact encouraging this illegal activity.
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