Thread: 3 Pei Wei restaurants closed due to Arpaio raids

3 Pei Wei restaurants closed due to Arpaio raids

by Luci Scott - Mar. 11, 2011 12:11 PM
The Arizona Republic

Three Pei Wei Asian Diners -- in Tempe, north central Phoenix and Fountain Hills -- are temporarily closed because the restaurants lost so many employees in raids by sheriff's deputies March 4.

"We're working as hard as we can to get these restaurants back open," said Pei Wei spokesman Peter Marino.

An unidentified employee stationed at the Pei Wei at Seventh Street and Glendale Avenue turned away would-be customers Wednesday night, saying that location would reopen March 21.

However, the company is not publicly stating a reopening date for the three sites.

The Tempe restaurant is at Guadalupe and McClintock, and the Fountain Hills location is at Shea Boulevard and Eagle Mountain Parkway.

Phones at the three sites were answered by a recording saying the sites would reopen soon.

The company is hiring and training dozens of new employees.

Twenty-seven people have been arrested by Maricopa County sheriff's deputies during an identity-theft investigation.

Arrests were made at the three restaurants and at the corporate office in Scottsdale.

At the time of the arrests, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he believed more than 120 Pei Wei employees used false identities from around the nation.

"We are still looking for the additional suspects, and the case in ongoing," Sheriff's Office spokesman Jeff Sprong said Thursday. Asked whether Pei Wei would change procedures in the hiring process, Marino said, "We were victims of fraud. The information (from applicants) all checked out. We are being as diligent as we can be. We are an e-Verify company, so we're doing all we can."

P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc., the parent company that operates 167 Pei Wei restaurants, said in a statement that the company is cooperating with investigators. It said it has rigorous pre-employment and hiring practices.

Arpaio said the raids were prompted by an anonymous tip his office had received about possible identity thefts.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/temp ... rants.html

Does anybody go to jail over this or do they just get to start all over with a new batch of illegals?

Originally Posted by Waiter

Does anybody go to jail over this or do they just get to start all over with a new batch of illegals?

My guess import more illegals, the slave trade is a tough thing to give up, think I would call it greed.

Do ya think that if these employees only speak Spanish.....that MIGHT be a clue

Originally Posted by Waiter

Does anybody go to jail over this or do they just get to start all over with a new batch of illegals?

No one goes to jail because

"We were victims of fraud. The information (from applicants) all checked out. We are being as diligent as we can be. We are an e-Verify company, so we're doing all we can."

If e-verify told them the employees were legal they aren't responsible for the e-verify error,
unless it an be proven in court that they knew these employees weren't who they claimed to be.

RELATED

Pei Wei Holds Job Fairs to Replenish Staff

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-230615-pei.html+wei

Arpaio said the raids were prompted by an anonymous tip his office had received about possible identity thefts.

That is the way to roll America!!!

Report any suspensions of work place fraud you come into contact with; however, it may not do any good depends on where you live, because most people thinks illegal immigrants and employments is a Federal matter.

Of course we all know differently, right guys?

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

RELATED

Pei Wei Holds Job Fairs to Replenish Staff

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-230615-pei.html+wei

Screen employees carefully this time, because the criminals have nothing to lose!!!

It's not an E-Verify error per se. E-Verify did exactly what it was designed to do, which is distinguish between a legitimate social security number and a fradulent one. One of the problems with E-Verify is that it cannot tell you the person presenting the social security card is who they say they are. If the social security card is a real ss number, E-verify will clear the number. That's all E-Verify does.

It's quite possible for an illegal invader to steal a number and it will pass an e-Verify screening. Problem is the person who presented the card is not that person, but an illegal invader thief.

The fact that these numbers cleared an E-Verify check should be enough probable cause to arrest the illegal invaders for identity theft, since they must have known, or should have known the number was legitimate in order to pass E-Verify screening.
Arrest them and let a court of law determine what the illegal invaders knew or didn't know.

Pei Wei try hiring red blooded americans who need the work and should be getting the work before ANYONE illegally in this country