Thread: Cincinnati firm fined $536,046 for hiring illegal aliens

I.C.E. News Release

February 10, 2012

Cincinnati firm fined at conclusion of worksite investigation

CINCINNATI - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that Koch Foods of Cincinnati LLC paid a $536,046 fine for administrative violations of U.S. immigration laws.

The ICE Office of Investigations in Cincinnati conducted a worksite investigation of Koch Foods after receiving information from a concerned citizen alleging that the company was employing more than 100 illegal aliens at their poultry processing facility in the Cincinnati area. In August 2007, ICE subsequently executed a search warrant at Koch's Fairfield, Ohio, processing facility and arrested 161 illegal aliens and seized relevant documents. ICE also executed a search warrant at Koch's corporate offices in Chicago seizing relevant documents.

Employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record the individual's identity document(s) and determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and related to the individual. The fine relates to I-9 violations at Koch's Fairfield, Ohio, facility. The company has cooperated with ICE in the investigation employing the use of E-Verify and ensuring that its policies and procedures are in compliance with legal requirements.

"Employers have a responsibility to hire men and women who are authorized to work in the United States and fines are an important component of ensuring their compliance," said Brian Moskowitz, Special Agent in Charge of ICE Office of Investigations in Michigan and Ohio. "The significant civil fines leveled here represent ICE's firm commitment to holding employers accountable."

ICE issued a Notice of Intent to Fine in the specified amount on Feb. 8. The Final Order was issued and fine paid on February 9 in Cleveland. The company has implemented measures revising its hiring and immigration compliance program, and has established new procedures to prevent future violations of federal immigration laws, which includes the removal of the individual employed as the human resource manager during the time period surrounding the violations.

In April 2009, ICE implemented a new comprehensive strategy to reduce the demand for illegal employment and to protect employment opportunities for the nation's lawful workforce. Under this strategy, ICE is focusing its resources on the auditing and investigation of employers suspected of cultivating and knowingly employing illegal aliens in the workplace.

ICE commends the Butler County Sheriff's Office, the West Chester and Fairfield Police Departments, and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General for their invaluable assistance in the investigation. In addition, ICE would like to recognize the West Chester and Fairfield Fire Departments for their assistance in ensuring the safety of the officers and illegal aliens present during the warrant execution.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE comprises four integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov . To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.

Last Modified: Friday, February 12, 2010
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1002/100212cincinnati.htm

Only $536,046 ? If they make a fine large enough to either put them out of business or a real big hurting on them then it might do some good...

These fines always make me sick...these crooks reap huge profits then get fined by some putrid Judge for a minuscule amount of money....but a small local slob losses everything he has because he doesn't have the funds to pay up.......go figure....


Kathyet

Originally Posted by kathyet

Only $536,046 ? If they make a fine large enough to either put them out of business or a real big hurting on them then it might do some good...

These fines always make me sick...these crooks reap huge profits then get fined by some putrid Judge for a minuscule amount of money....but a small local slob losses everything he has because he doesn't have the funds to pay up.......go figure....


Kathyet

I agree. I'd like to see them bankrupted myself. All these direct employers of illegal aliens should suffer tremendous consequences.

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Company Fined Over Immigration Violations At Fairfield Plant

POSTED: 10:37 am EST February 12, 2010
UPDATED: 11:15 am EST February 12, 2010

FAIRFIELD --
A company accused of hiring illegal immigrants has paid a steep fine for employment violations.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency announced Friday that Koch Foods of Cincinnati LLC paid a $536,046 fine for administrative violations of U.S. immigration laws.

The ICE Office of Investigations in Cincinnati conducted a worksite investigation of Koch Foods after receiving information from a concerned citizen alleging that the company was employing more than 100 illegal immigrants at their poultry processing facility in Butler County

In August 2007, ICE subsequently executed a search warrant at Koch's Fairfield processing facility and arrested 161 illegal immigrants and seized relevant documents. ICE also executed a search warrant at Koch's corporate offices in Chicago seizing relevant documents.

Employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record the individual's identity document(s) and determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and related to the individual.

The fine relates to I-9 violations at Koch's Fairfield facility. The company has cooperated with ICE in the investigation employing the use of E-Verify and ensuring that its policies and procedures are in compliance with legal requirements

"Employers have a responsibility to hire men and women who are authorized to work in the United States and fines are an important component of ensuring their compliance," said Brian Moskowitz, Special Agent in Charge of ICE investigations in Michigan and Ohio, in a news release. "The significant civil fines leveled here represent ICE's firm commitment to holding employers accountable."

ICE issued a Notice of Intent to Fine in the specified amount on Feb. 8. The Final Order was issued and fine paid on February 9 in Cleveland. The company has implemented measures revising its hiring and immigration compliance program, and has established new procedures to prevent future violations of federal immigration laws, which includes the removal of the individual employed as the human resource manager during the time period surrounding the violations.

http://www.wlwt.com/news/22543084/detail.html

Last Updated: 8:05 pm | Friday, February 12, 2010
Chicken processor fined for illegal workers
By Dan Horn • dhorn@enquirer.com • February 12, 2010

Comments (19) Recommend (1)

Koch Foods Co. paid a $536,000 fine this week for violations discovered during an immigration raid almost three years ago at the company's Fairfield poultry processing plant.




U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials described the fine as a significant penalty that is justified by the myriad problems the agency found when it examined the company's hiring policies. Police and federal agents arrested 161 illegal immigrants during the August 2007 raid.

"This is one of the more significant fines for a case like this," said ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls. "It speaks to the level of violations we found."

The violations included a failure to complete required paperwork and to do a thorough check of job applicants' identification documents.

Koch officials said they cooperated with federal investigators and revamped their hiring practices to include an electronic system known as E-Verify, which checks prospective employees against a federal immigration database.

"We have been very proactive to make sure we are state-of-the-art in how we do hiring," said Mark Kaminsky, Koch's chief financial officer. "We feel very good about our policies and procedures. We feel we're cutting edge."

Kaminsky said the company, which employs about 500 people in Fairfield, has added training for managers on how to complete the paperwork required by immigration officials and has set up new procedures to avoid a repeat of the violations uncovered in 2007.

The company also has made changes on the management team that runs the Fairfield facility, although Kaminsky would not discuss how many people, if any, lost their jobs.

"We don't take any of this lightly," Kaminsky said. "We take it very seriously."

Brian Moskowitz, the agent in charge of ICE in Ohio and Michigan, said the crackdown on Koch Foods is part of a broader immigration enforcement effort that targets employers suspected of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

"Employers have a responsibility to hire men and women who are authorized to work in the United States," Moskowitz said in a statement Friday. "Fines are an important component of ensuring their compliance."

Federal prosecutors said last year they would not seek criminal charges against company officials based on the 2007 raid. Walls said Friday that has not changed and criminal charges are not expected.

The morning raid at Koch's plant followed a two-year investigation into the hiring practices of the Chicago-based company. At the time, immigration officials described the company as "an egregious violator" of U.S. immigration laws, which meant the company was suspected of knowingly hiring undocumented workers.

The raid was the largest in Greater Cincinnati in years and was among the largest in the country in 2007.

All of the arrested workers faced deportation proceedings and about 20 also were charged with forgery, tampering with records and identity fraud.

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http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 1/2130327/

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Cincinnati Poultry Company Pays $536,046 fine for I-9 violations

Enforcement, Form I-9, ICE -
by John Fay -
February 13, 2010 - 13:26
America/New_York

In a press release issued yesterday, ICE reported that Koch Foods of Cincinnati LLC paid a $536,046 fine as a result of a worksite enforcement investigation conducted by ICE in 2007. The investigation led to a raid of Koch’s Fairfield, Ohio, processing facility and the arrest of 161 undocumented workers in August 2007. ICE also executed a search warrant at Koch’s corporate offices in Chicago seizing relevant documents.

It’s important to note that the half a million dollar fine relates specifically to Form I-9 violations, which is consistent with ICE’s new approach to worksite enforcement. ICE issued the Notice of Intent to Fine on February 8, and the fine was paid on February 9 in Cleveland. Since the investigation, Koch Foods has apparently implemented new hiring procedures and an immigration compliance program to prevent future violations. The company is now also using E-Verify.

In announcing this fine, ICE reminded employers that they have implemented a new, comprehensive strategy to reduce the demand for unauthorized employment by focusing their resources on auditing and investigating employers who are suspected of cultivating and hiring undocumented workers. In addition, ICE has also been increasing the number of random Form I-9 audits on all employers, regardless of size or industry. For more information on these initiatives, please browse our blog posts on ICE enforcement.

http://everifyandi9news.com/?cat=12