Thread: More than 100 SW Fla warehouse workers detained

More than 100 SW Fla warehouse workers detained

BY LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER : JULY 17, 2014 : Updated: July 17, 2014 4:12pm

MIAMI (AP) — Florida authorities have arrested more than 100 workers at a Naples vegetable packing plant for allegedly using fake identities to get their jobs.

The state's Division of Insurance Fraud led Wednesday's raid, in which at least 105 people were taken to the Collier County jail. A labor attorney said all or nearly all of the workers are immigrants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they are providing support to state investigators in the case.

The owner of the company, Alfie Oakes, told local media he had no idea the fraud was occurring. Neither he nor other representatives with the company known as Incredible Fresh returned calls and email messages left by the Associated Press Thursday.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, who oversees insurance fraud cases, said the investigation began when a former employee sought medical attention for a job-related injury and admitted using a fake identity to get hired. Using a fake ID to gain employment or to submit a benefit claim is a third-degree felony, under Florida law.

"Any time a person commits insurance fraud it drives up the cost of insurance for everyone," Atwater said.

Atwater said the investigation remains open, but there was no evidence the employers were aware of the alleged crimes. State investigators said of the more than 100 detained, at least 27 stole identities of victims in 25 other states.

Labor attorney Andrea Ortega who volunteers with the Florida Immigrant Coalition said she arrived at the warehouse Wednesday evening to find dozens of families waiting nearby for word of their loved ones. She said all or nearly all of those arrested were immigrants.

"One man in the parking lot said his wife had been arrested. He told me he was too scared to go talk to officers (because of his own immigration status) and was waiting in the parking lot hoping someone would do him the favor of asking what had happened," she said.

Collier County Sheriff's deputies took the workers to the local jail on charges of workers' compensation fraud. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials can request local authorities hold for more than 48 hours individuals accused of crimes who may be eligible for deportation.

ICE Spokeswoman Tammy Spicer said her agency is providing support to state investigators. She said any resulting immigration enforcement actions would be handled on a case by case basis.

Pastor Jesus Ortega of the Assemblies of God Ministry of Belem said he was helping the families of five detained parishioners gather the money for the $10,000 bond. He said all five had been in the country roughly a decade. Ortega said one 30-year-old woman was five months pregnant.

"They are all very upset. They are people who came to work and to help their families get ahead. It's very hard for them," he said from the bail bonds office.

Federal worksite raids at companies with large numbers of immigrant workers made headlines under President George W. Bush, but have been rare under the Obama administration, which has focused more on employers who violate immigration and employment law, than the workers themselves.
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AP Reporter Fernando Peinado contributed to this report from Miami.
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Follow Laura Wides-Munoz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lwmunoz
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Information from: Naples (Fla.) Daily News, http://www.naplesnews.com

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/crime/article/More-than-100-SW-Fla-warehouse-workers-detained-5627906.php

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

More than 100 SW Fla warehouse workers detained

BY LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER : JULY 17, 2014 : Updated: July 17, 2014 4:12pm

MIAMI (AP) — Florida authorities have arrested more than 100 workers at a Naples vegetable packing plant for allegedly using fake identities to get their jobs.

The state's Division of Insurance Fraud led Wednesday's raid, in which at least 105 people were taken to the Collier County jail. A labor attorney said all or nearly all of the workers are immigrants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they are providing support to state investigators in the case.

The owner of the company, Alfie Oakes, told local media he had no idea the fraud was occurring. Neither he nor other representatives with the company known as Incredible Fresh returned calls and email messages left by the Associated Press Thursday.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, who oversees insurance fraud cases, said the investigation began when a former employee sought medical attention for a job-related injury and admitted using a fake identity to get hired. Using a fake ID to gain employment or to submit a benefit claim is a third-degree felony, under Florida law.

"Any time a person commits insurance fraud it drives up the cost of insurance for everyone," Atwater said.

Atwater said the investigation remains open, but there was no evidence the employers were aware of the alleged crimes. State investigators said of the more than 100 detained, at least 27 stole identities of victims in 25 other states.

Labor attorney Andrea Ortega who volunteers with the Florida Immigrant Coalition said she arrived at the warehouse Wednesday evening to find dozens of families waiting nearby for word of their loved ones. She said all or nearly all of those arrested were immigrants.

"One man in the parking lot said his wife had been arrested. He told me he was too scared to go talk to officers (because of his own immigration status) and was waiting in the parking lot hoping someone would do him the favor of asking what had happened," she said.

Collier County Sheriff's deputies took the workers to the local jail on charges of workers' compensation fraud. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials can request local authorities hold for more than 48 hours individuals accused of crimes who may be eligible for deportation.

ICE Spokeswoman Tammy Spicer said her agency is providing support to state investigators. She said any resulting immigration enforcement actions would be handled on a case by case basis.

Pastor Jesus Ortega of the Assemblies of God Ministry of Belem said he was helping the families of five detained parishioners gather the money for the $10,000 bond. He said all five had been in the country roughly a decade. Ortega said one 30-year-old woman was five months pregnant.

"They are all very upset. They are people who came to work and to help their families get ahead. It's very hard for them," he said from the bail bonds office.

Federal worksite raids at companies with large numbers of immigrant workers made headlines under President George W. Bush, but have been rare under the Obama administration, which has focused more on employers who violate immigration and employment law, than the workers themselves.
___
AP Reporter Fernando Peinado contributed to this report from Miami.
___
Follow Laura Wides-Munoz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lwmunoz
___
Information from: Naples (Fla.) Daily News, http://www.naplesnews.com

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/crime/article/More-than-100-SW-Fla-warehouse-workers-detained-5627906.php

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Naples packing plant back to work after raid

Michael Braun, mbraun@news-press.com 9:46 p.m. EDT July 17, 2014


(Photo: Michael Braun/news-press.com)

The owner of a Naples produce packing company that was raided by a state insurance agency Wednesday said the facility is back in "100 percent" operation with replacement workers.

The Florida Insurance Fraud Division arrested 105 workers for workers' compensation fraud and identity theft Wednesday at Fruit Dynamics, a packing plant on Mercantile Avenue in Naples. Workers at the plant cut fruits and vegetables "to order," company officials said.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrests saying that as many as 146 of 189 employees of Fruit Dynamics, more commonly known as Incredible Fresh or Collier County Produce, may have committed workers' compensation fraud. The Collier County Sheriff's Office said 105 workers were arrested and booked into the jail.

NEWS-PRESS BREAKING: Fraud probe nets 16 arrests at Naples company

In a written response Thursday night, Oakes said: "Oakes Farms is not having any problems, the press reported 90 percent of our workforce was arrested, only about 25 percent of our employees were arrested and we replaced them with new workers this morning ...

"We followed all the legal guidelines when hiring all our employees, some have worked for the company over 10 years, and I have only owned the company for three years. We will try to discourage this from happening in the future, however we run the risk of discrimination if we challenge workers that show a valid ID and Social Security."

Oakes Farms, of Naples, purchased an interest in Fruit Dynamics in 2011 and became the sole owner in 2012, according to Oakes Farms' website.

The booking sheets from the Collier County Sheriff's Office on Thursday showed the majority of those arrested are from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador.

A spokesman at the Collier sheriff's office said the influx of those arrested was not a problem at the jail. "We got advance notice of the arrests," said Michelle Batten, a public information officer for the sheriff's office. "We have the capacity."

Affidavits attached to most of the booking sheets detailed how the investigation operated.

The Florida Division of Insurance Fraud opened the investigation last September after a member of the Collier sheriff's office received a complaint from a defense attorney that had been handling cases with Fruit Dynamics and its subsidiaries that it had a high percentage of illegal aliens working there.

During the investigation an agent with the state insurance fraud division interviewed Mark Hansen, plant manager at Fruit Dynamics, who explained the hiring process. The affidavit said Hansen told investigators that most of the employes are found by "word of mouth," that the turnover was low and that 80 percent of workers were long-term employees.

Insurance fraud division officials said that there was no evidence that the company was involved in the fraud.

Immigration enforcement actions resulting from the investigation will be handled individually, with criminal charges taking precedence, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office said.


Workers at Fruit Dynamics arrested for fraud. Video by Michael Braun

http://www.news-press.com/story/mone...raid/12786485/