Thread: McDonald's Franchisee Fined 1 Million for Hiring Illegals

Originally Posted by PhredE

Guilty Pleas, $1 Million in Fines, in Reno Immigration Case

Posted: July 16, 2008 02:44 PM

Two executives and the corporation that owns 11 northern Nevada McDonald's restaurants have pleaded guilty to felony immigration charges stemming from raids last fall.

Last September, agents for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 56 people in Reno, Sparks and Fernley after serving 12 court-ordered search warrants at the restaurants and the headquarters for a franchise corporate office in Reno.

At a hearing today in Las Vegas, attorney's for Mack Associates Inc., which owns the restaurants, pleaded guilty on behalf of the franchise to two felony counts, including conspiracy and aiding and abetting.

Under a plea agreement, the franchise will pay $1 million in fines.

Operation's director Joe Gillespie and former vice president Jimmy Moore pleaded guilty to one count each.

Each faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines when sentenced at a later date.

Authorities charged that Mack Associates' management employed people they knew were in the country illegally by furnishing them with names and Social Security numbers belonging to others.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=8687090

The good news is two executives have pleaded guilty to felony immigration charges stemming from raids last fall. I hope they receive the maximum jail time which I believe is five years in this case. This is a good start against a high profile corporation.

They need to keep the pressure on! The only way this is going to change is if executives risk felony convictions and jail time. Fines do not mean anything to these people, as they are loaded with money and it's just a cost of doing business! It's the jail time and felony convictions which will serve as a deterent, as most of these fat cat execs do not want to go to jail.

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Originally Posted by vmonkey56

It is about time. But million is not enough. :P

Think about all the McDonalds; and illegals working there in the front, waiting on customers. These illegals do not even understand English. I have seen this locally.

They need to get out to California and conduct an investigation into McDonalds. Out of all the fast food joints, they are the absolute worst with hiring illegal invaders. They have people working in these restraunts that do not speak a word of English. It' a complete disregard for the rule of law in order to make a buck. They need to come down hard on McDonalds, not only the franchisee, but the McDonalds corporation itself!

Jack in the Box, Burger King, McDonald's, all employ illegals here.

....."I'm lovin' it"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by legalatina

....."I'm lovin' it"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's about time!

Heavy Fines and Felony Jail Time for ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS!!! Remember the ILLEGAL EMPLOYER Robert Camp in Houston and the murder of the Police Officer by his ILLEGAL EMPLOYEE!!!!!

Making them pay, can you imagine if they made OSHA Inspectors wear two hats just like some of the Police Departments. The State would get rich, I know it would happen here in CA.

ICE finally has it's eyes open.

Originally Posted by PhredE

Buzzm1 - All McD's are franchised operations. So, in some ways, they do operate rather independently (but still have to meet general standards about service, hygiene, etc [well, in theory I suppose...]). This guy ran a group of 11 franchises - which, let's hope McD's has the foresight to terminate ASAP.
Shut those puppies down or give the franchise to a responsible operator.

Phred, do you know if it is public information/online as to who owns the franchises for our local McDonalds? Or we could just mail a copy of this article to the "Owner" of our local McDonalds.

I have had many 'language barrier' experiences at restaurants...

The company, Mack Associates Inc., knew the employees were illegal immigrants and had offered them names and social security numbers belonging to other people, the US Justice Department said.

Where did they get the names and Social Security #'s?

I wonder if the list of names and credit information that somehow gets "released by mistake" because of a "computer error" by banks and universities, are actually being sold to "employment agencies". It happens almost every few weeks now. Someone is actually selling this stuff. And it could be yours or mine.

GOOD FOR MAKING EMPLOYERS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS PAY HEFTY FINES!
Especially McDONALDS where no one can even speak English.