CA: SK Foods target of immigration lawsuit

SK Foods target of immigration lawsuit
Firm used undocumented workers, suit states
By MARIE VASARI
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 04/19/2008 01:28:51 AM PDT

SK Foods, the Monterey-based tomato processor under federal investigation, systematically hired undocumented immigrants as a source of cheap labor, depressing wages for the remaining work force, according to a lawsuit filed at the U.S. District Court in Fresno against the company.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of former company employee Robin Brewer, was filed at the U.S. District Court in Fresno in late 2006 and named SK Foods President and CEO Scott Salyer as the defendant. The suit, pursuant to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, alleged that the company knowingly hired undocumented workers, thereby depressing the wages of the plaintiff and other legal workers.

The lead attorney on that suit, Nicholas Wagner of Fresno, was not available for comment Friday.

Early Wednesday, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service executed a search warrant at the company's Monterey headquarters, but the agencies remained mum Friday about what they hoped to find. It isn't known whether the raid is connected to the lawsuit.

Lisa Crist, SK Foods vice president of human resources and administration, said Friday that the company is cooperating with investigators.

"At this point, it's still very preliminary," said Crist. "We're still reviewing a lot of the documents trying to determine what was taken from us on Wednesday."

Neither the FBI nor the IRS had made clear why they were investigating the company,
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said Crist. "We are coordinating with the FBI, but haven't really had much feedback from them at this point."

Records and data were taken from the company's Monterey headquarters, said Crist, and warrants were executed at both of the company's processing locations in California — in Williams, north of Sacramento, and in Lemoore, south of Fresno.

SK Foods employs 300 full-time employees at the three California locations, with the numbers swelling seasonally to 1,200 employees at the height of the summer packing season.

The warrant search caught company officials and employees by surprise, but Crist said the company continued its operations without interruption.

"We are still committed to our success, our operations and our products and customers," said Crist. "We are definitely standing behind our products and our customers and our service each and every day."

She declined to discuss the status of any lawsuits involving SK Foods, citing company policy against discussing past or present litigation.

"We are going to take whatever means necessary to defend our company, our integrity and our products," Crist said.

SK Foods issued a brief statement Wednesday, stating that "the events of this morning have nothing to do with food quality and food safety issues."

The statement cited the company's investment in its employees and their training.

A second statement, issued on the company's Web site, was directed to employees, reassuring them that the company was still in business and that operations would resume as usual after the federal agents' search and seizure.

Marie Vasari can be reached at 646-4478 or mvasari@montereyherald.com.

http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_8 ... ck_check=1

Feds raid ag giant's headquarters
FBI and IRS execute search of SK Foods' Monterey office
By MARIE VASARI
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 04/17/2008 08:50:42 AM PDT

SK Foods, an international food processor with headquarters in Monterey, is under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Arlette Lee, public information officer for the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, confirmed that a search warrant was executed early Wednesday at the company's Ryan Ranch office.

"We were out there on official business," said Lee.

But she said that because the warrant was issued under a sealed affidavit, she was not at liberty to reveal additional information, including the nature of the joint investigation or what authorities hoped to find at the facility.

At least one other location was searched Wednesday as part of the investigation.

SK Foods was established in 1990 and is now based in an office at 21 Lower Ragsdale Drive. Part of the SK Foods Group of companies, it processed more than 1.5 million tons of tomatoes in California in 2006. Among its products are tomato paste, diced tomatoes, salsas and sauces, diced green chiles, sliced jalapenos and crushed tomatillos.

In late 2005, the privately owned company signed a deal to process all goods marketed by Chino-based Authentic Specialty Foods, including sauces and salsas sold under the La Victoria and Embasa brands.

The products are processed and packed at SK Foods' facilities in Williams, a town north of Sacramento, and Lemoore, south of Fresno.

Scott Salyer, chief executive officer of SK Foods, is the sole owner of
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Salyer American Fresh Foods, a Salinas-based fresh produce supplier founded by his family in 1986, when the family-owned farming organization Salyer American diversified from grain and cotton.

The company has operations in California and Arizona. Its products are sold under the American Classic brand but the company operates as a division of SK Foods.

Along with its facilities in California, SK Foods owns Cedenco Food Ltd. of New Zealand, which is primarily involved in corn processing, and an Australian factory where tomato, pear and apple products are processed.

Salyer wasn't speaking to reporters Wednesday. But the company issued a media statement via e-mail through a company representative.

"The events of this morning have nothing to do with food quality and food safety issues," read the statement. "We want to reassure our customers, employees and friends that we clearly stand behind the quality of our products and employees and reassure our customers of the absolute safety of our products."

The company has hired Monterey-based public relations firm Armanasco Public Relations to handle media inquiries, said spokeswoman Leslie Borasi.

"We will share more information as we find out what the government is investigating and why," Borasi said.

Marie Vasari can be reached at mvasari@montereyherald.com or 646-4478.

SK Foods statement to the media:

MONTEREY, Calif., April 16, 2008 --- The events of this morning have nothing to do with food quality and food safety issues. We want to reassure our customers, employees and friends that we clearly stand behind the quality of our products and employees and reassure our customers of the absolute safety of our products.

Our company was established based on the principle of integrity; producing a product of the highest quality and dedication to our customer relationships. Our investment in our employees, their training and in our widespread facilities represents our commitment to the future and to our long-term success. We look forward to resolving this situation that is a business issue unrelated to our products' quality and safety.

See the online version of this story to read SK Foods' complete statement.

http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_895576 ... ost_viewed

April 18, 2008 - Monterey, CA


Statement to the Media

MEDIA STATEMENT

PR Contact:
Armanasco Public Relations, Inc.
Telephone: 831.372.2259


MONTEREY, Calif. – April 18, 2008 – SK Foods remains fully operational, despite the unexpected events of April 16, and our employees in California and worldwide continue to do an excellent job. Our high-quality vegetable products continue to be processed and distributed without interruption.

SK Foods attorneys are reviewing and assessing the situation. No one has been accused of any wrongdoing, and our team has cooperated fully with authorities. Our management team and our employees remain focused on doing their jobs, keeping our business strong and communicating with our customers.

The SK Foods family has long been noted for its principles of integrity, quality, and dedication to our customers, as well as to the vendors and growers with which we do business.

SK Foods is proud of its products, its employees and its reputation of integrity. We look forward to continuing with business as usual. And, we will be forthcoming with any new information as we learn more.


###

About SK Foods
SK Foods is one of the world’s leading processors of tomato and vegetable products for re-manufacturers, retail and foodservice marketers. With headquarters in Monterey, California, and processing facilities at locations in California, New Zealand, and Australia, SK Foods was established in 1990 and is part of the SK Foods Group of companies. For more information please visit www.skfoods.com.
http://www.skfoods.com/about-news-item.php?itemid=24

Quote:

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SK Foods issued a brief statement Wednesday, stating that "the events of this morning have nothing to do with food quality and food safety issues."

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How do you know what possible diseases might be spread when you don't even know if they're in the country legally or not. How do you know they couldn't and wouldn't do something to the safety of the food on purpose? Or even by accident. Not exactly reassuring to me.

Holy Smokes. If this woman and other employees have good proof of this and the FBI gets good evidence this is serious. This is the RICO law and is a federal offense.

I hope this scares the bejeebers out of other employers who are knowingly hiring illegals.

You know what I'm copying, printing and faxing this lovely article to Boxer, Feinstein, Pelosi, and my congressman. Oh maybe to some of the other congress members who won't sign the Discharge Petition.

THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR. WE NEED AMERICAN CITIZENS STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE AND BRINING LAWSUITS. GO, GO, GO

I finding other threads posted that I find this article even more relevant.

Bravo for Brewer! More Americans should be doing this. The IRS does not take kindly to not getting their share of taxes and is more vigilant than ICE, it seems. Whatever it takes to punish those who employ illegal aliens and the illegal aliens themselves is the only way to go!

FBI agents search SK Foods plant

(4 p.m. Wednesday)

The SK Foods plant in Lemoore was the target of a Federal Bureau of Investigation search today, in what may have been a deeper investigation into the company's alleged practice of hiring cheap, illegal-immigrant labor to lower the wages of hourly-paid workers.

"The only thing I can say is that a search warrant was conducted today," FBI Agent Steve Dupre said from the Sacramento Office of the FBI. "The Department of Justice has a strict policy regarding pending investigations, so we are prohibited from commenting further. We can only confirm that, yes, we did conduct a search."

SK Foods is still in the midst of a pending federal class action lawsuit, which alleges that the company hired more than 5,000 illegal immigrants in a period between 2002 and 2006, which is a violation of the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Repeated calls to the SK Foods executive offices in Monterey were not answered this afternoon.
http://tinyurl.com/43dtno

This part is interesting to me:

SK Foods is still in the midst of a pending federal class action lawsuit, which alleges that the company hired more than 5,000 illegal immigrants in a period between 2002 and 2006, which is a violation of the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Quote:

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The SK Foods family has long been noted for its principles of integrity, quality, and dedication to our customers, as well as to the vendors and growers with which we do business.

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Spoken like a true traitor who hired illegal aliens, had all their records hauled away by the FBI, and will probably be charged with several criminal violations under the RICO Act.
Just ANOTHER corrupt illegal alien employer. :x