July 31, 2008
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr//0807/080731houston.htm
Indictment returned against Action Rags USA owner and 2 managers
Similar charges made last week against a third manager
HOUSTON — The owner of Action Rags USA and two managers were indicted Thursday on various charges of violating federal immigration laws. This indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle, Southern District of Texas, and Robert Rutt, special agent in charge of the Houston Office of Investigations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Action Rags USA is an exporter and grader of used clothing.
Mabarik Kahlon, 45, Valerie Rodriguez, 34, and Cirila Barron, 38, are all charged in count one of the Indictment with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens and to induce illegal aliens to come to the United States. Count two of the Indictment charges them with inducing aliens to enter the United States for commercial advantage. Both counts carry a maximum term of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine or both. A third manager, Mayra Herrera-Gutierrez, 32, was charged last week by “Criminal Information” with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens and to induce illegal aliens to come to the United States.
ICE began its investigation into Action Rags, an east Houston plant located at 1225 Port Houston, following complaints in May 2007. According to the criminal complaint previously filed in this case, investigators located and interviewed a number of former and current plant employees. The yearlong investigation revealed the company did not properly complete the required I-9 forms to verify eligibility for employment. The investigation also determined that the company knowingly hired illegal aliens, and reportedly paid them in cash until they were able to purchase fraudulent identity and social security cards from local flea markets.
The investigation ultimately led to ICE agents executing a search warrant at Action Rags. During the search warrant execution, ICE agents discovered about 200 persons employed at the plant who worked a single shift from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily on June 25, 2008. ICE agents administratively arrested more than 150 illegal aliens, most from Mexico, who were discovered working at the plant. The Indictment alleges that illegal aliens made up roughly 85 percent of the Action Rags workforce, and that the defendants engaged in acts that openly flouted federal immigration law.
All four defendants are expected to appear in federal court next week. Two managers, Barron and Herrera-Gutierrez, who are illegal aliens themselves, remain in custody due to ICE immigration detainers lodged against them. Kahlon and Rodriguez remain on bond.
This case was investigated by ICE; it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Doug Davis and Ryan D. McConnell, Southern District of Texas.
A criminal indictment is a formal accusation of alleged criminal conduct, not evidence. A Criminal Information is when a defendant waives their Constitutional right to be indicted by a federal grand jury on a felony charge. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
— ICE —
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr//0807/080731losangeles.htm
“Los Angeles man arrested for filing nearly 1,000 fraudulent work visa petitions
Defendant made nearly $5 million charging aliens for fraudulent filings”
PRESS RELEASE SNIPPET: “LOS ANGELES - A Riverside, Calif., man is scheduled to make his first court appearance this afternoon after federal authorities arrested him yesterday on charges of filing nearly a thousand fraudulent petitions with U.S. immigration and labor authorities, which allowed him to obtain work visas and other immigration and labor benefits for more than 550 aliens.
Alexander Sales Vista, 61, was arrested yesterday morning by agents with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Vista was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles that charges him with visa fraud, a charge that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison.
Over the course of more than 10 years, Vista allegedly filed nearly 1,000 fraudulent petitions that sought work visas for more than 550 aliens, whom Vista claimed were going to work at companies he owned. Many of the aliens were granted work visas. However, according to the complaint, the jobs often did not exist and the companies were simply shell companies that did not conduct any real business. In some cases, the aliens worked for Vista, but they were paid substantially less than what Vista told Labor Department and immigration officials.
Charging the aliens between $7,000 and $12,000 to file a petition, Vista made nearly $5 million over the course of his visa fraud scheme.”