Ex-Golfland workers take plea deal in employer sanctions case
Reported by: Brandon Hannifin
Email: bhannifin@abc15.com
Last Update: 9/18 10:09 pm

Prosecutors have reached plea deals with at least three women arrested earlier this summer in what authorities hoped would become the state’s first employer sanctions case, according to the East Valley Tribune.

The agreements may mean the women are agreeing to give up evidence against their former employer, Mesa’s Golfland Entertainment Centers, according to an attorney involved in the case.

The women, Monica Ibanez-Aranda, 40, Maria del Pila Baez, 36, and Erika Fabiola Ibarra-Cerda, 31, were among nine people arrested during the June raids of Valley water parks owned by Golfland.

All nine were originally charged with forgery and identification theft, which are mid-level felonies.

The three women have since pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of felony criminal impersonation.

Authorities said they were investigating a tip that the company knowingly hired illegal immigrants to work at the water parks.

The East Valley Tribune reported that Golfland would have become the first company sued under Arizona’s employer sanctions law which went into effect January of 2008.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said investigators did not have enough evidence to punish the business – only enough to arrest and charge a few workers.

Since the raids at Golfland, county law enforcement has targeted other Valley businesses in Mesa as well as Chandler, allegedly involved in similar operations.

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