Thread: Springdale,AR Immigration Sting Yields 23 Arrests

Immigration Sting Yields 23 Arrests
Acambaro Restaurants, Home, Warehouse Raided
This article was published on Monday, December 10, 2007 9:46 PM CST in News
By Brandon Marcello & John Henley Jr.
THE MORNING NEWS

www.nwaonline.net
A local business owner and his family face the loss of their property following raids by local and federal authorities Monday

Federal officials requested forfeiture of 11 properties in a court filing released Monday afternoon after authorities raided Acambaro restaurants in Benton and Washington counties.

In addition to the restaurants, the Rogers Police Department's Special Tactics and Response team entered a residence at 2706 Creekside Drive, owned by Arturo Reyes and Serafina Reyes. They were not among those arrested.

Police arrested Arturo Reyes Jr., 35, Silvia Reyes, 36, Lucila Huaracha, 33, who live in Rogers, and Armando Reyes, 33, of Lowell. All are illegal immigrants, according to a news release issued by Deborah Groom, first U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.

Members of the Northwest Arkansas Immigration Criminal Apprehension Task Force on Monday morning simultaneously raided Acambaro restaurants at 215 S. Eighth St. in Rogers, at 121 N. Thompson St. in Springdale, at 301 S. Walton Blvd. in Bentonville and at 406 N. Bloomington in Lowell.

Specific charges against Arturo Reyes Jr., Silvia Reyes, Lucila Huaracha and Armando Reyes were not released.



An affidavit in support of the forfeiture states that there is "sufficient evidence" that Arturo Reyes, Arturo Reyes Jr. and Silvia Reyes, "knowingly ... harbored and shielded illegal aliens for personal and financial gain." Further, they "conducted or attempted to conduct such financial transactions to purchase the real properties ... which involved a specified unlawful activity."

Documents further indicate that the unlawful activity included identity theft, possession and use of counterfeit identity documents, employment eligibility verification fraud and money laundering.

The forfeiture complaint lists 11 properties owned by a member or members of the Reyes family. The properties have an appraised value of more than $3.6 million.

The affidavit states that Arturo Reyes Jr. and Silvia Reyes conducted 26 deposits at Arvest Bank totaling $138,742 by multiple cash deposits each less than $10,000. The deposits occurred on the same or multiple days between May 3, 2005, and Oct. 17, 2005. The affidavit states the Reyes' acts were purposefully planned to evade the Currency Transaction Report, which requires U.S. financial institutions to file a report for each deposit, withdrawal, exchange of currency or other payment or transfer of more than $10,000.

In addition to the financial transactions, "the Acambaro Mexican Restaurant owners and operators are believed to be utilizing the labor of illegal aliens to increase their profit margin in order to maintain their current lavish lifestyles," Cottrell's affidavit states.

In 2006, Acambaro reported 231 Social Security numbers to the state that reportedly belonged to employees. Fifty-five of the numbers were believed to be assigned to an actual person, while 21 were believed to reside in Arkansas. Seven Social Security numbers were of those who were deceased, according to the affidavit.

Employees also provided false information on work documents more frequently recently, at the request of the Reyes family, the affidavit states. An increase in arrests of Acambaro employees recently provoked Arturo Reyes Jr. to tell his employees that if they encountered Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents they should identify Arturo Reyes Sr. as the owner of the business, according to the affidavit. The elder Reyes is a lawful permanent resident of the United States while Reyes Jr. is in the country illegally.

The affidavit indicates the elder Reyes has recently maintained limited control with regard to the day-to-day operations of the restaurants and distribution company.

Nineteen other people suspected of being illegal immigrants were arrested during the raids, Groom said. Their identities were not released.

Three people were handcuffed and taken from the Rogers restaurant in a Department of Homeland Security van at 9:35 a.m. Other people inside the restaurant were allowed to leave after producing identification.

Several people were reportedly arrested at the Lowell restaurant and warehouse. At the time of the Rogers raid, a truck from Garcia Food Distributors was being unloaded by workers at the restaurant. The driver of the truck was released.

Groom said Monday evening she did not know where those arrested were taken. None of the Reyes family members nor Huaracha were listed as prisoners in Washington, Benton or Sebastian county jails Monday evening.

AT A GLANCE

Forfeiture Of Properties

Special Agent Paul Cottrell, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, filed an affidavit in support of a complaint for forfeiture of 11 properties owned by the Reyes family. Forfeiture was requested because the properties were purchased "with monies derived from ... the proceeds of conspiracy to commit an offense or defraud the United States, namely identity theft, possession and use of counterfeit identity documents, employment eligibility verification fraud and money laundering."

Address Value

406 N. Bloomington, Lowell $295,900

301 S. Walton Blvd., Bentonville $517,050

210 Spring Creek, Lowell $244,100

2704 Creekside Drive, Rogers N/A

2706 Creekside Drive, Rogers $376,450

1102 N. Mallard Lane, Rogers $186,350

215 S. Eighth St., Rogers $609,150

305 S. Lincoln St., Lowell $634,050

121 N. Thompson St., Springdale $397,750

2605 N. College Ave., Fayetteville $302,800

208 S. Seventh St., Rogers $42,650

Total $3,606,250

Sources: Staff Report, ARCountyData.com

THE MORNING NEWS' Christopher Spencer, James Bowie and Don Dailey contributed to this report.

I'm sorry - but 23 arrests??

I applaud any raid and any arrests - but there is such a thing as being cost effective here.

If you have a gang of thousands in one town robbing banks and you know where they are going to be everyday, all the time. Instead of going after those you already know you can get, you use money and manpower to 'investigate' and prosecute a gang of 2 dozen. Doesn't make sense to me. Doesn't seem like the best use of our monies.

If they picked up the workers at one of the big plants and caught thousands, the others would get the message. When they go after the little fish, it doesn't really bother them.

Of course, the big fish know they have their protection paid for already.

They could have taken their busses to the local chicken processing plant and gotten hundreds in one fell swoop.

Can we assume these business owners mentioned were not heavy donors to the 'parties'?

Well DHS will get to keep a portion of the 3.6 million dollars and I would guess this will send a warning to other Illegals to get the H out of our country or they may be next.

Well DHS will get to keep a portion of the 3.6 million dollars and I would guess this will send a warning to other Illegals to get the H out of our country or they may be next.

From your lips to God's ear -

Has anyone heard, from reliable sources, about large numbers headed back to Mexico?

never seems to amaze me what greed can make people do

Four face charges of harboring illegal immigrants after raid

Dec 13, 2007
Associated Press

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Four people arrested in raids on Mexican restaurants and a wholesale company in northwest Arkansas face charges that they harbored and aided illegal immigrants living in the region.

Debbie Groom, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, said the four appeared this afternoon at a U.S. District Court hearing in Fayetteville. Those facing charges are 33-year-old Lucila Huaracha, a Mexican national living in Rogers -- 33-year-old Armando Reyes, a Mexican living in Lowell -- 45-year-old Arturo Reyes Junior, a Mexican living in Rogers -- and 36-year-old Silvia Reyes, a Mexican also living in Rogers.

Prosecutors said the four operated Acambaro Mexican Restaurants and Garcia's Distribution Company in northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri.

Prosecutors said 23 people in all were arrested in the raids Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Agents seized more than $100,000 from 15 bank accounts associated with the businesses. Separate civil forfeiture complaints in U.S. District Court claim four homes owned by the Reyes family, five Acambaro restaurants and a Garcia's warehouse came from proceeds of hiring illegal immigrants.


www.fox16.com

Report: Informants, Arrested Employees Led To Immigration Raid

By Ron Wood
THE MORNING NEWS
FAYETTEVILLE -- Information from confidential informants and a series of arrests involving employees of Acambaro led federal officials to Arturo and Silvia Reyes, according to affidavits unsealed Friday.

The husband and wife operate the Acambaro restaurant chain, Garibaldi's Mexican Restaurant and Garcia's Distributor, according to federal officials. They're charged with harboring illegal immigrants for financial gain and knowingly hiring them to work at the restaurants and food distribution company. Documents further indicate the alleged unlawful activity included identity theft, possession and use of counterfeit identity documents, employment eligibility verification fraud and money laundering.

The affidavits say illegal immigrants were the primary source of employees for the company. Some had worked at the restaurant as long as seven years. They were paid "off the books," often in cash.

Both Arturo and Silvia Reyes, who is pregnant, are in the country illegally, according to immigration officials.

Arturo and Sylvia Reyes co-managed the businesses and Silvia Reyes kept the books, according to affidavits by Charles Motsinger, a Springdale police detective assigned to an immigration and customs enforcement task force.

The investigation began in September 2006 after a confidential informant told authorities Arturo Reyes, 35, was harboring and employing illegal immigrants at his business.

Immigration officials and police then noticed a number of the illegal immigrants they were arresting turned out to be Acambaro employees.

They started interviewing the arrested Acambaro employees in March and using information gained about hiring and pay practices to make a case against Arturo and Silvia Reyes, 36. They learned employees were either never asked to provide documentation or fake documents were used.

Investigation of financial records indicated the Reyes were dealing in large sums of cash, which investigators thought was unusual because most restaurant patrons were paying with debit cards, according to the informants.

Using illegal immigrants for their primary labor source and paying them off the books allowed the company to turn a profit, officials said.

Arturo and Silvia Reyes, of Rogers, along with Lucila Huaracha, 33, of Rogers, and Armando Reyes, 33, of Lowell were arrested Monday in a raid by federal and local immigration enforcement. Huaracha and Armando Reyes are also in the country illegally, according to immigration officials.

Huaracha supervised workers she knew were illegal immigrants and she knew money she deposited for the restaurant didn't come from legal transactions, while Armando Reyes hired or helped hire illegal immigrants to work at the restaurants, according to the federal charges against them.

All are set for probable cause hearings next Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

All four are being held in local jails on detainers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and cannot bond out of jail.

Federal officials have also requested the forfeiture of 11 properties owned by the Reyes family in Benton and Washington counties.

Nineteen other people suspected of being illegal immigrants were arrested during the raids, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Their identities have not been released.

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/ ... ambaro.txt

Couple Will Face Trial On Harboring Illegal Immigrants
Dec 27, 2007

By Ron Wood
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE — A husband and wife arrested after raids on Acambaro restaurants will face trial on charges of harboring illegal immigrants, a federal magistrate judge ruled Thursday. No trial date has been set.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James Marschewski said probable cause exists for the charges against Arturo Reyes Jr., 35, and Silvia Reyes, 36.

Marschewski ordered Arturo Reyes Jr. held in jail pending trial, saying he could be considered a flight risk. Arturo Reyes is in the country illegally.

Marschewski ordered Silvia Reyes released on $25,000 bond and home detention on electronic monitoring until trial. The judge said Silvia Reyes should be home taking care of her five children. She’s also pregnant. The children are staying with grandparents in Rogers.

Silvia Reyes will also have to have a bond in place with federal immigration officials because she’s in the country illegally and they now have a detainer on her.

The Reyeses have been in the U.S. for 14 years.

Arturo Reyes Jr., described as an operator and manager of the Acambaro restaurant chain and a food distribution business, faces charges of knowingly harboring illegal immigrants by hiring them to work at the restaurants.

Silvia Reyes’ role is less clear. She’s charged with aiding and abetting. According to police, she was involved in the day-to-day operations of the restaurants, kept the books for the company and knew the company hired illegal immigrants.

Tim Snively, Silvia Reyes’ defense attorney, said after repeated questioning Special Agent Paul Cottrell dropped the law enforcement doublespeak and told him, in plain English, what Silvia Reyes is alleged to have done wrong. It turns out giving illegal immigrants a job and paying them amounts to shielding or harboring, Snively said.

Cottrell said the Reyeses’ knowledge of U.S. financial systems allowed illegal immigrants to survive here.

While the only charges so far are harboring aliens for financial gain, court documents have said unlawful activities included identity theft, possession and use of counterfeit identity documents, employment eligibility verification fraud and money laundering. According to police, the Reyeses didn’t care whether employees were legal or whether their documentation was valid.

The money laundering charge, if filed, would stem from paying the employees and from making financial transactions with money they made off the restaurants from harboring illegal immigrants to work, according to police.

Members of the Northwest Arkansas Immigration Criminal Apprehension Task Force raided several Acambaro restaurants Dec. 10. Information from confidential informants and employees who had been previously arrested led to the arrests, according to police.

Federal officials have also requested the forfeiture of 11 properties owned by a member or members of the Reyes family in Benton and Washington counties. The properties have an appraised value of more than $3.6 million.

The company has also filed for bankruptcy.

Lucila Huaracha, 33, of Rogers and Armando Reyes, 33, of Lowell also face charges related to harboring illegal immigrants. Armando Reyes’ probable cause and detention hearing was canceled and has yet to be reset. Huaracha waived her hearings Thursday.

FAST FACTS

What Is 287(g)?

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, Section 287(g) became effective Sept. 30, 1996. It authorizes the secretary of Homeland Security to enter into agreements with state and local law agencies, permitting officers to perform immigration enforcement functions. Officers from Benton and Washington counties and Rogers and Springdale police departments form a Northwest Arkansas 287(g) regional task force.

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