Thread: Man fined $12M for hiring illegals

Man fined $12M for hiring illegals
Company president also sentenced to 15 months in jail
BY DAN HORN
DHORN@ENQUIRER.COM

The president of a company that employed hundreds of illegal immigrants in Wilmington, Ohio, must spend 15 months in prison and pay $12 million to the government - the largest forfeiture ever ordered in an illegal labor case.

Maximino Garcia pleaded guilty last year to participating in a conspiracy involving more than 900 illegal immigrants who worked for his temporary labor companies, Garcia Labor Company Inc. and Garcia Labor Company of Ohio. U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel imposed the sentence Thursday.

Federal prosecutors say Garcia, 42, hired Hispanic workers who used invalid Social Security numbers and provided them with transportation and housing in apartment buildings he owned.


The Social Security Administration issued warnings about the invalid numbers in 2002, 2003 and 2004, but prosecutors say Garcia took no action.

ABX Air Inc., a Wilmington air cargo company, terminated its contract with Garcia after an audit found that almost all of the 400 temporary laborers he provided to ABX were using invalid or fraudulent Social Security numbers, prosecutors say.

Homeland Security officials said the $12 million forfeiture is the largest in U.S. history and is based on the amount of money Garcia made by employing illegal immigrants. They said the case against Garcia is part of a larger, nationwide crackdown on companies that employ illegal aliens.

"Companies that use cheap, illegal alien labor as a business model should be on notice," Julie Myers, assistant secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said in a written statement.

Garcia's attorneys, Ed and Jim Perry, could not be reached for comment Thursday. But in court documents, they described the $12 million forfeiture as excessive and asked Spiegel to settle on a lower amount.

They said Garcia, of San Antonio, is a U.S. citizen who has worked hard all his life and is a "charitable man of great faith."

"It would be unfair to impose a fiscal life sentence on Max Garcia," his lawyers said of the $12 million forfeiture.

Alverson said Garcia does not have $12 million, so prosecutors will seek forfeiture of property, future earnings and other assets to fulfill the court order.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... /703020362

They said Garcia, of San Antonio, is a U.S. citizen who has worked hard all his life and is a "charitable man of great faith."

The man cheated stole and lied what was his faith Satanism? The charitable part was to himself so I'm clear on that one.

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