3 suspected illegal immigrants given $60,000 in workers comp benefits
Staff Report

Saturday, June 14, 2008

HAMILTON β€” The Butler County Sheriff's Office has teamed with the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation to investigate various violations of laws that resulted in the arrests of three suspected illegal immigrants in the past several weeks.

On May 21, Prisciliano Mendoza-Castro, 40, of Springdale, was arrested and charged with tampering with records, a third-degree felony, for allegedly providing false information on his workers' compensation records. He pleaded guilty to falsification and is awaiting sentencing, according to the sheriff's office.

Uriel Valdovinos, 21, of Hamilton, was arrested May 23 for forgery, a third-degree felony, and charged with providing his employer with a forged Social Security card to obtain employment. This was discovered when the investigation determined the Social Security number used on his workers' compensation record did not belong to him, officials said.

Valdovinos pleaded guilty to attempted theft, a misdemeanor, and is awaiting sentencing.

On Thursday, June 12, Ricardo Ayala-Rojas, 18, of Harrison, was arrested for identity fraud, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly using a Social Security number that belongs to a man living in West Virginia. The victim whose Social Security number was used has been contacted and he is now aware his identity was stolen, officials said.

The three arrested have received workers compensation benefits of almost $60,000, officials said. They have been identified as illegal immigrants and Immigration and Customs Enforcement also have placed holders on them for deportation.

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