Thread: IN-Mishawaka plant, its president placed on probation

Mishawaka plant, its president placed on probation after 2007 immigration raid

Faces of the UnemployedMishawaka plant, its president placed on probation after 2007 immigration raid

Close Officials arrested 36 suspected undocumented workers at Janco Composites in Mishawaka in March 2007. (WSBT file photo)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Apr 23, 2009 at 3:14 PM EDT

Story Updated: Apr 23, 2009 at 3:14 PM EDT

SOUTH BEND — Janco Composites Inc. and its president were placed on probation Thursday for knowingly hiring illegal workers.

Related ContentJanco, Jaques plead guilty to illegal immigration charges
Mishawaka's Janco charged with concealing aliens
Arrested workers await fate
Bishop pledges church's support for Hispanic community
Fundraiser held for families impacted by raid
Immigration officials raid Mishawaka business
Janco’s Mishawaka plant, which makes fiberglass tubing, was the subject of a federal immigration raid in March 2007 that led to the arrests of 36 undocumented workers.

Judge Robert L. Miller Jr. of the US District Court of the Northern District of Indiana accepted guilty pleas from both Janco and its president, Douglas Jaques, in a binding plea agreement that set out the terms of sentencing.

Janco was placed on probation for five years and fined $210,000. The company will have to pay $42,000 immediately and $7,000 a month with interest later.

While on probation, Janco will also have to institute a compliance program to meet hiring guidelines.

Jaques was placed on probation for one year, but allowed to travel within Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. He also must pay an immediate fine of $30,000.

Jaques declined comment after the hearing.


http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/43563857.html

More Traitors to America!

Mishawaka business pays the price for hiring illegal immigrants Save Email Print
Posted: 5:45 PM Apr 23, 2009
Last Updated: 7:00 PM Apr 23, 2009
Reporter: Alana Greenfogel
Email Address: Alana.Greenfogel@WNDU.com
12 comments
Mishawaka business pays the price for hiring illegal immigrants


A Mishawaka businessman is paying the price—quite literally—for hiring illegal workers.

Janco Composites and its owner, Douglas Jaques, were sentenced Thursday in federal court after reaching a plea agreement.

As a corporation, Janco must pay $210,000 and will be on probation for 5 years. Jaques will also have to personally pay $30,000 and will be on probation for one year.

Federal agents raided the Mishawaka business two years ago. Thirty six illegal Mexican immigrants were arrested as a result. As part of the plea, Jaques took full responsibility so the other workers would not be prosecuted.

Thursday, Assistant United States Attorney Barbara Brook said Janco had a culture of hiring illegal workers, but since the raid in March 2007, has been cooperative and changed its practices. Brook also said Janco’s sentencing is a message to other companies which hire undocumented workers.

Rebecca Ruvalcaba from at La Casa de Amistad in South Bend says while many immigrants have a hard time getting their citizenship, she says laws are in place for a reason.

"There's certain laws that we have to follow and in regard to breaking those laws, there are consequences to that," Ruvalcaba says. "They can't leave, but yet, they can't work. So you have these cases...many, many cases, that are in limbo."

Those consequences for Janco and its owner are in the form of fines, probation, and possibly, a change in policy.
http://www.wndu.com/localnews/headlines/43581727.html

Mishawaka’s Janco, company president sentenced
Mishawaka plant site of immigration raid in 2007.

By PABLO ROS

SOUTH BEND — Janco Composites Inc., a Mishawaka plant raided by federal immigration agents in March 2007, and its president were placed on probation Thursday for hiring illegal workers to benefit themselves.

The sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Indiana followed a plea hearing in February in which Janco and its president, Douglas Jaques, admitted to hiring illegal workers and signed a plea agreement with a binding sentence.

Judge Robert L. Miller Jr. accepted their guilty pleas Thursday and formally sentenced both parties. Jaques represented Janco in court.


Janco, which makes fiberglass tubing, was placed on probation for five years and fined $210,000. It will have to make an immediate payment of $42,000 and monthly payments of $7,000 with interest thereafter.

While on probation, Janco also will have to adopt a compliance program to meet hiring guidelines.

Jaques was placed on probation for one year and fined $30,000, which he will have to pay immediately. While he's on probation, his travel will be restricted to Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, the judge said.

The plant's raid in 2007 led to the arrests of 36 undocumented workers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Brook said at the hearing Thursday that Janco had developed a "culture of undocumented workers," but since cooperated with federal authorities and changed its hiring practices.

Brook also said the Janco case "sets a tone for other companies" that it's "serious business to comply with (immigration) laws — you have to dot your i's and cross your t's and process your documents."

Janco had received "No Match" letters in 2000 and 2001 from the federal government, alerting the company that its employees' Social Security numbers did not match their names. But the company looked the other way, according to a federal investigation.

When rumors surfaced in February 2007 that immigration agents were in town, Janco supervisors allowed Mexican employees to switch to the evening shift to avoid a raid during the daytime, according to the same investigation.

Until he pleaded guilty to hiring illegal workers, Jaques was a member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County. But Jaques has since resigned because, a Chamber official said Thursday, "he felt his issues were such that he could no longer serve us appropriately."

Staff writer Pablo Ros:
pros@sbtinfo.com


http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pb ... 319/-1/XML