Thread: TX: 24 Illegal Immigrant Workers Indicted

24 Illegal Immigrant Workers Indicted
From Staff and Wire Reports

A Tyler federal grand jury returned 24 indictments this week against illegal immigrants working at East Texas plants owned by the Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.

For years, federal agents had received tips alleging undocumented immigrants were working at the plants owned by the nation’s largest chicken producer. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Dallas acted on leads concerning two of the company’s seven East Texas plants.

Undercover agents posing as illegal immigrants infiltrated an alleged network of job-seekers who paid hundreds of dollars for fraudulent identification while those responsible for hiring them looked the other way, the Associated Press reported.

By the time the investigation concluded in December, agents had arrested 24 people, including: a Pilgrim’s Pride employee accused of dealing identification documents; a human resources employee at the Mount Pleasant facility; two other men agents say were part of the scheme to get identity documents for illegal immigrants; and 20 other workers at Pilgrim’s Pride plants in Mt. Pleasant and Pittsburg who are accused of using social security numbers not issued to them.

Charged in the illegal immigration ring, obtaining and selling false identification documents to illegal aliens so they could obtain employment were: Daniel Totosaus-Rodriguez, also known as Alberto Morales or Chilango, 39; German Yepez-Guzman, AKA Ivan Damaso or Fetch, 33; Jose Luis Garcia-Vasquez, 42; and Marco Antonio Garcia-Mendoza, AKA Marcos Antonio Garcia-Mendoza, 26, all of Mount Pleasant. They were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with identification documents, committing fraud in connection with identification documents, being an illegal alien found in the U.S., being an alien in possession of a firearm, and false use of a Social Security account number.

The defendants face up to five years for the conspiracy and the false Social Security charges; up to 15 years for the fraud count; up to two years for the illegal alien charge and up to 10 years for the firearms count.

Nineteen illegal aliens were indicted with obtaining and using false Social Security account numbers to obtain employment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced late Wednesday.

The defendants from Mount Pleasant are: Jose Martinez-Ramirez, AKA Benjamin Jimenez, 32; Jose De Jesus Ramos-Castillo, AKA Jesse Leary, 23; Victor Martinez-Quinonez, AKA Rene Rodriguez, 58; Gamaniel Basaldua-Reyes, AKA Manuel Blanquet, 19; Germahin Anguino, AKA Oscar Barillas Jr., 21; Maria Dominguez, AKA Araceli Aldape, 27; Emilio Mejia-Angulo, AKA Arturo Ramirez, 21; Rigoberto Carmona-Ramirez, AKA Ronnie Alcon, 34; Jose Eduardo Arellano-Vasquez, AKA Guillermo Espinoza, 34; Rosauro Moran-Rodriguez, AKA Mercedes Ramos, 39; Maria Angela Vega-Cruz, AKA Igxila Melendez, 27; Damacio Tovar Tomas-Quirino, AKA Juan Heredia, 48; Jose Castillo Ramirez, AKA Carlos Escalante, 46; Victor Perez-Sepulveda, AKA Julio Perez, 30; Sergio Alejandro Claudio-Hernandez, AKA John Lopez, 22; Rigoberto Canada-Lopez, AKA Yoserin Bedolla, 28.

Also indicted were Cecilia Perez-Lazaro, AKA Norma Chavez, 27; and Norma Mendoza-Baldobinos, AKA Emerita Alvarenga, 40; both of Pittsburg; and Silvestre Castro-Rodriguez, AKA Lazaro Aguilar, 36, of Cookville.

Each of the defendants face up to five years in prison.

Reyna Villerreal, also known as Reyna Aleman, 33, Mount Pleasant, was indicted for making a false statement and mail fraud. She allegedly completed an application for naturalization and misrepresented that she had never before committed an offense for which she had not been arrested when she filed an Employment Verification form, on which she provided a false Social Security number If convicted, she faces up to five years for the false statement charge and up to 20 years for the mail fraud charge.

The cases are being investigated by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Jackson in Tyler.

THE INVESTIGATION

Court documents laying out the government’s case offer a rare glimpse into an allegedly complicit circle of illegal workers, document dealers and trusted employees that made the scheme work, the Associated Press reported.

An affidavit by ICE Special Agent George Ramirez revealed the agency has received more than 75 calls since 2005 about illegal immigrant workers at the plants. A review found 14 of the human resources employees were suspected of knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants, Ramirez stated.

Ray Atkinson, a spokesman for the Pittsburg-based company, said Pilgrim’s Pride is not facing charges and is cooperating in the federal investigation. The company has about 55,000 employees and operates dozens of facilities, mostly across the South, in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

"The HR employee who was taken into custody has been terminated from employment," Atkinson said in a statement to The Associated Press. "We are looking further into the matter."

Records reveal undercover ICE agents penetrated the Pilgrim’s ring by claiming to be undocumented workers eager to purchase the papers needed to land "good" jobs at the chicken plants. Once hired, some agents continued worked shifts in the plant, doing surveillance and monitoring conversations.

Among the accused are alleged "document vendors" Marcos Garcia and Daniel "Chilango" Totosaus-Rodriguez. According to the court records, the pair sold doctored documents to a confidential informant to get a job at Pilgrim’s Mount Pleasant site. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison for transferring false identification.

The two men allegedly guaranteed their wares, promising to replace the documents at no extra charge if Pilgrim’s discovered a social security number to be invalid. They also told agents that employees in Pilgrim’s human resources office wouldn’t question applicants returning with papers bearing a new name because "everyone knows what’s going on."

Garcia allegedly met the informant in April outside a coin-operated laundry and offered help him get a job at Pilgrim’s for $800, including $600 for the necessary documents and a $200 "finder’s fee" for himself. Days later, the price went up to $900. He claimed to have connections to a foreman in the plant.

Later, the informant and Garcia met with Totosaus-Rodriguez, who allegedly assured them the documents would be "good," and that he had previously obtained identification from the same source.

Before the informant received the false documents, he was introduced to Pilgrim’s Pride human resources employee Reyna Villarreal to discuss a "good" job within the company.

Totosaus-Rodriguez allegedly hinted after the meeting that the informant may need to pay Villarreal $500 to seal the deal, saying: "with money, everything is possible."

During a later meeting at Pilgrim’s, the informant gave his documents to Villarreal and told her he’d purchased them from Garcia. Villarreal entered the social security number into a computer system and then said the "documents look good to me," according to court records.

Villarreal, who also goes by Reyna Aleman, was arrested on a complaint of making a false statement. Authorities allege she claimed to be a U.S. citizen on a form when at the time she wasn’t.

Another Pilgrim’s employee, Jose Luis Garcia, allegedly collected photos of the informant and relayed the cash paid for the identity documents. Agents later determined the man had been previously deported and was living illegally in the U.S. He was charged with re-entering the United States after being denied admission and faces up to two years in prison.
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080 ... /404922563

What's with all the AKA's??? So, illegal alien invaders are not who they say they are??? Who knew!!!

Jan. 10, 2008, 7:52PM
Plant workers indicted in alleged immigrant hiring scheme
By ANABELLE GARAY
Associated Press
Comments (157) Recommend (3)

DALLAS — Three former Pilgrim's Pride Corp. employees and another man accused of running an identity theft ring to help get jobs for illegal immigrants at two poultry plants have been indicted, prosecutors said.

A former human resources employee alleged to have hired workers even though she knew about the scheme was indicted on charges related to her citizenship application. Nineteen other former workers at the Mount Pleasant and Pittsburg plants also were indicted.

The 24 arrests were part of a nine-month investigation in which agents posed as illegal immigrants seeking work at East Texas plants owned by Pilgrim's Pride, the nation's largest chicken producer. Agents believe they infiltrated an alleged ring in which job-seekers would pay hundreds of dollars for fraudulent documents that would get them jobs at Pilgrim's Pride.

Former Pilgrim's Pride workers Daniel "Chilango" Totosaus-Rodriguez, 39; German "Fetch" Yepez-Guzman, 33; and Jose Luis Garcia-Vasquez, 42; were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with identification documents, fraud in connection with identification documents, false use of a social security number, being an illegal immigrant in the U.S. and being an alien in possession of a firearm.

Another man 26-year-old Marco Antonio Garcia-Mendoza, also known as Marcos faces the same charges. Each man faces up to five years for conspiracy and social security counts, up to 15 years for the fraud counts, up to two years on the illegal immigration counts and 10 years on the firearms possession counts.

At Pilgrim's, Totosaus-Rodriguez went by Alberto Morales and Yepez-Guzman was known as Ivan Damaso. An affidavit issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement alleges Totosaus-Rodriguez assured job-seekers the documents would be "good" and said he had obtained identification from the same source.

Garcia-Vasquez allegedly collected photos of the informant and relayed the cash paid for the identity documents while Yepez-Guzman was responsible for doctoring the identity documents, according to the affidavit.

Yepez-Guzman's attorney, Scott Hacker, said he hadn't seen the indictment and could not comment.

Garcia-Mendoza allegedly met an ICE informant in April and offered help him get a job at Pilgrim's for $800, including $600 for the necessary documents and a $200 "finder's fee" for himself. He claimed to have connections to a foreman in the plant.

Former Pilgrim's Pride human resources employee Reyna Villarreal, 33, of Mount Pleasant, was indicted on charges of making a false statement and mail fraud. A complaint alleges she was aware of the doctored identity documents and hired people with them anyway.

Also know as Reyna Aleman, Villarreal is accused of not disclosing on her citizenship application two years ago that she had committed an offense for which she had not been arrested. Agents allege the offense was providing a false social security number on her employment verification form.

Attorneys for Villarreal and the others indicted did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press.

Villarreal faces up to 5 years for the false statement charge and up to 20 years on the mail fraud charge.

The other 19 workers were indicted on charges of false use of a social security number. If convicted, each faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

It appears that those who purchased new identities did so to get jobs. The investigation found no efforts to obtain credit or loans using the names, said Jackson, the prosecutor.

But the scheme still caused hardships for some whose identities were allegedly stolen; most were people with Spanish surnames.

Ray Atkinson, a spokesman for Pittsburg-based Pilgrim's Pride, declined to comment on the indictments. He has said the company is not facing charges and is cooperating in the federal investigation.

Pilgrim's Pride has about 55,000 employees and operates dozens of facilities mostly across the South, in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5445241.html