Thread: 2 admit hiring illegal workers for N. Ky Fischer Homes jobs

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... /607080375

Saturday, July 8, 2006
2 admit hiring illegal workers for N. Ky. jobs

By Paul A. Long
Post staff reporter

Federal authorities have obtained the first guilty pleas to significant felony charges in the multi-year investigation of the use of illegal immigrant workers in the Northern Kentucky home building industry.

Two men who pleaded guilty Friday admitted they hired and paid illegal immigrants in cash to work on job sites in Boone County for Robert Pratt, a key figure who authorities say links the illegal workers to Fischer Homes.

They have agreed to cooperate with the government's investigation, and will testify against others - including Pratt, if necessary.

In return, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob McBride and the defendants agree the two will be sentenced under the federal sentencing guidelines, which in their cases - if all goes as expected - call for a sentence of about 12 to 18 months.

Alfredo Medina-Mejia, 35, and Leopoldo Medina, 27, both pleaded guilty to a single count of harboring illegal immigrants for commercial advantage. They said they knew the workers were in the United States illegally.

In their plea agreements, worked out with McBride, both men admitted they are Mexican citizens who also are in the United States illegally.

Pratt paid the two men by check, and they in turn cashed and paid the workers, both men said in separate plea agreements with the government.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning will sentence the men on Nov. 17. Until then, they remain free on bond.

"That in or about (the year) 2000," the plea agreement for both men states, "the defendant agreed to and did work for Robert Pratt as a construction crew chief framing apartments, condominiums and houses in Northern Kentucky and Southwestern Ohio. The defendant was employed by Robert Pratt, but paid through Pratt's nominee companies through ... May 9, 2006."

On that date, federal agents from Customs and Immigrations Enforcement swooped through Fischer Homes job sites in Boone County, making dozens of arrests, including four supervisors and some 75 illegal workers from Mexico and several Central American countries.

Although Fischer Homes has been mentioned prominently in the investigation and the cases, only the four supervisors from the company have been charged. All still work for the company, which has stood behind them and adamantly denied any wrongdoing.

The majority of the people arrested were charged with being in the United States illegally. Most of them - at last count, 79, with six more to go - have pleaded guilty, sentenced to time served, and subjected to deportation.

Some remain in either the Boone County or Grant County jails as material witnesses in the larger cases against Pratt and the four Fischer supervisors.

The supervisors - Tim Copsy, William Allison, Bill Ring and Doug Witt - are charged with harboring illegal workers by providing them jobs. Pratt, a contractor from Tennessee who often worked with Fischer Homes, faces 10 charges of money laundering, along with charges of conspiracy and harboring illegal aliens. He faces up to 20 years in prison. The four supervisors face up to 10 years if convicted.

Pratt and the companies he and his family ran were subcontractors on Fischer job sites, court documents state. Investigators said Pratt and his family's companies worked closely with the four supervisors of Fischer Homes and shared decision-making and work supervision.

In addition to Pratt, several of his family members are charged with being part of the conspiracy - his son and daughter, Howard Pratt and Jacqueline Pratt, and his sister, Josefino Moreno. Court documents say Robert Pratt ran Progressive Builders and Quality Construction; Josefino Moreno ran HPF Inc., and Jacqueline Pratt ran HJP Construction.

Pratt is free on bond, under house arrest in Franklin, Tenn., about 20 miles south of Nashville. His other family members also are free on bond.

Fischer Homes, one of the largest home-building companies in Northern Kentucky, has denied it knowingly hired any illegal workers and has said it has little control over how its subcontractors run their businesses.

It has taken out full-page advertisements in local newspapers proclaiming its innocence and its strict adherence to immigration laws.

It said it has 449 employees - 447 of whom are citizens of the United States, and two who have permanent residency status.

The people hired by contractors or subcontractors are not employees of Fischer Homes, the company say, and as such, it cannot question their immigrant status.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... /607080341

Fischer Homes trial delayed
Lawyers prep for illegal immigrant case
BY JIM HANNAH | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
The trial of four Fischer Homes construction site supervisors will not take place this month.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning rescheduled the trial of Timothy Copsy, Doug Witt, William Allison and Bill Ring to Sept. 11 to give lawyers more time to prepare.

The four Fischer employees have been charged with harboring or conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants.


A federal indictment alleges the four supervisors knowingly used illegal immigrants employed by a subcontractor at the Tree Top subdivision in Hebron and the Tara Subdivision in the Plantation Pointe development in Florence.

As part of the two-year investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have rounded up nearly 100 suspected illegal immigrants since May 9. Some of them are being held as material witnesses in the investigation.

Also on Friday, Alfredo Medina-Mejia of Mexico pleaded guilty to conspiring to harbor other illegal immigrants. A day earlier, Leopoldo Medina, also of Mexico, made a similar agreement.

In exchange for their pleas, prosecutors said they wouldn't oppose the defendants' request for a sentence on the lower end of federal guidelines.

The two had faced the possibility of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years on supervised release.

Their plea agreements state they worked for Fisher Homes' subcontractor Robert Pratt as crew chiefs framing apartments, condominiums and houses from 2000 through May in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati.

Pratt - under house arrest in Franklin, Tenn. - and his sister, Josefina Moreno, are accused of paying $141,600 to framing crews over the past five years.

They are scheduled to stand trial Oct. 2.

E-mail jhannah@nky.com

These guys must feel like they won the lottery.

One home builder in KY is using illegal alien labor. Good job ICE. We got 'em. Are you back asleep yet?

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... /607130374

Thursday, July 13, 2006
4 pleas likely in immigrant investigation

By Paul A. Long
Post staff reporter


The posse appears to be closing in on Robert Pratt, the Northern Kentucky contractor who authorities say is a major figure - and the key link to Fisher Homes - in the two-year investigation into the hiring of illegal immigrants in the local home-building industry.

At least four people who were indicted with Pratt on conspiracy charges - including his daughter, Jacqueline - plan to plead guilty next week and could provide information to federal prosecutors.

The attorney for Jacqueline Pratt-Medina, Michael Bouldin, said his client is cooperating in the investigation and will testify against her father "if need be."

"I think it's fair to say that out of all those indicted so far, (Pratt) is the main one," Bouldin said Wednesday.

Pratt's attorney, Christopher Johnson of Los Angeles, declined comment on the case.

Four supervisors for Fisher Homes are charged in indictments separate from Pratt's with working with him and others to hire and supervise the undocumented workers. Fisher Homes has denied any wrongdoing and said none of its employees broke the law.

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In addition to Pratt's daughter, two Mexican brothers, Ruben Trejo and Jose Trejo-Soto - the former a naturalized U.S. citizen, the latter charged with being in the country illegally - also have filed notice they plan to plead guilty next week.

Specific details of any plea agreements made by the four have not been made public. But court records and attorneys for the four confirmed their plans.

John Arnett, who along with Iversy Velez represents Ruben Trejo, said his client will admit he created a company to hire and pay illegal immigrants. The company worked as a subcontractor for Pratt, authorities have said.

Trejo is "going to plead, and he's going to offer any testimony he can against Robert Pratt or any of the others," Arnett said.

If all do plead guilty, it will mean six of the 11 people indicted with Robert Pratt have entered guilty pleas to felony charges of conspiracy to hire illegal immigrants. Last week, Alfredo Medina-Mejia and his brother, Leopoldo Medina - who is married to Jacqueline Pratt-Medina - pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and agreed to cooperate with the investigation.

The sixth man is Luciano Salazar, who authorities said helped hire and pay illegal workers for Pratt's companies.

His attorney, who also represents Trejo-Soto, confirmed that his clients planned to plead guilty but would not comment on whether they are cooperating with the investigation.

The indictment against Robert Pratt and 10 others said they owned a number of local companies that hired and paid illegal immigrants to work on job sites building homes in Northern Kentucky. Jacqueline Pratt ran one of the companies, HJP Construction, according to court records.

Ruben Trejo and his brother, Jose Trejo-Soto, were instrumental in recruiting and hiring the illegal workers, according to court records. Trejo acted as something of a coordinator, transporting workers from his California home to Northern Kentucky to work, and housing groups of Mexicans in apartments he rented in the area, court filings allege.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/07/ ... ation.html

Contractor Takes Plea Deal In Illegal Worker Case

Reported by: Bill Price
Web produced by: Laura Hornsby
Photographed by: 9News
First posted: 7/17/2006 11:52:57 AM Last updated: 7/17/2006 5:22:16 PM
Another chapter in the Boone County illegal worker is unfolding Monday, as one framing contractor has signed a plea deal.

As part of a plea deal, Ruben Trejo may help testify against Robert Pratt and other contractors and supervisors connected with Fischer Homes.

Trejo ran the R & J Framing Company with his brother, Jose Trejo Soto.

The plea deal dismisses one of the charges of harboring illegal immigrants and profiting from their work.

Trejo and his brother are accused of not only using illegal workers, but providing them with housing and helping to conceal their presence.

Depending on his level of cooperation with prosecutors, the 42-year-old Californian could see his potential sentence sharply reduced from a 10 year maximum to a year in prison or less.

Trejo was arrested back in May during a series of raids that saw 81 people illegal construction workers and their bosses rounded up and arrested.

Trejo may even testify against Robert Pratt and other Fischer Homes supervisors during their trials, which have been set for early October.

All the supervisors and contractors charged have so far pleaded "not guilty" to charges of using undocumented workers.

When the plea deal hearing was held Monday morning, the judge wasn't convinced Trejo fully understood why he was pleading guilty.

That's why a second hearing is going on Monday afternoon, upstairs at Covington Federal Court.

9News hope to find out more about whether the plea deal is accepted by the judge later this afternoon.

http://www.wtvq.com

Guilty Pleas in Illegal Immigrant Bust
By:Jon Sasser
WTVQ Channel 36
Wednesday, July 19, 2006


Six people plead guilty to harboring illegal immigrants in Northern Kentucky. Federal investigators rounded up nearly 100 suspected illegal immigrants in may as a part of an investigation into Crestview Hills-based Fischer Homes and its sub contractors. Some of the immigrants are still being held in Boone County as material witnesses in the case. Four Fischer Homes supervisors charged in the case say they are not guilty of the charges.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 8/-1/CINCI

Last Updated: 1:39 am | Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Woman testifying against dad
In deal, she'll help in Fischer Homes immigrant case
BY JIM HANNAH | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
COVINGTON - The daughter of a Fischer Homes subcontractor agreed Tuesday to testify against her father as part of a federal investigation into the hiring of illegal immigrants to build new homes across Northern Kentucky.

Jacqueline Pratt-Medina, 25, of Florence, became the sixth person in 12 days to plead guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiring to harbor illegal aliens as part of deals reached with federal prosecutors. The others are:

Leopoldo Medina of Mexico.

Alfredo Medina-Mejia of Mexico.

Lucian Salazar, 30, Mexico.

Ruben Trejo, 42, of California.

Trejo's brother, 32-year-old Jose Trejo-Soto, who entered the country illegally from Mexico and graduated from Van Nuys High School in California.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBride said he is in plea negotiations with four additional people in exchange for their cooperation.

Fifteen people - including four Fischer Homes construction site supervisors - were indicted earlier this year as part of the two-year investigation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents also have rounded up almost 100 illegal immigrants who worked as day laborers at subdivisions in Northern Kentucky. Some of those illegal immigrants are still being held at the Boone County jail as material witnesses.

Fischer Homes, which had its Crestview Hills headquarters raided, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and insists that none of its employees broke the law. A company spokesman said any illegal immigrants worked for subcontractors, and Fischer had no control over them.

Pratt-Medina's lawyer, Michael Bouldin, said his client remained hopeful that her father, Robert Pratt, would avoid a trial by admitting what he did. "She would rather not testify against her father," Bouldin said, "but she is going to do what she has to do."

Pratt, 47, remains under house arrest in Franklin, Tenn., after being indicted last month on multiple counts of harboring illegal aliens and money laundering. He is scheduled to stand trial Oct. 2.

Pratt's lawyer, Christopher D.M. Johnson of the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

Pratt-Medina, who remains free on her own recognizance, admitted in court Tuesday to running one of her father's companies that hired illegal workers to frame homes.

Federal prosecutors dropped one count of harboring illegal aliens, one count of conspiracy to launder money and nine counts of money laundering against Pratt-Medina as part of the deal.

Federal sentencing guidelines call for Pratt-Medina to be sentenced to 12 to 18 months and fined $250,000 for conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants, but federal prosecutors could recommend that she serve less time when U.S. District Judge David Bunning sentences her Nov. 17.

Many of the illegal immigrants who are cooperating with McBride have been released from jail and granted special work permits.

Lawyer Tom Goeke, who is representing Trejo-Soto and Salazar, said the immigrants have families they need to support. For example, Trejo-Soto runs a successful construction company with his brother and has a home in Florence where his wife and children live.

E-mail jhannah@nky.com