Thread: Federal agents raid Phoenix-area Danny’s Car Wash locations AZ.

Federal agents raid Phoenix-area Danny’s Car Wash locations


A Scottsdale police car is parked outside Danny's Car Wash and Danny's Family Market during a raid off Scottsdale Road on Saturday, August 17, 2013. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said the officers started executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 16 locations, "as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations." Patrick Breen / The Republic N


Federal agents conduct their raid Saturday raid the Danny's Car Wash located at 1954 E Highland Avenue in Phoenix. Stacie Scott / The Republic N


An investigator wearing a Homeland Security Investigations shirt is seen outside Danny's Car Wash and Danny's Family Market during a raid off Scottsdale Road on Saturday. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said the officers started executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 16 locations, "as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations." Patrick Breen / The Republic N


The scene Saturday outside Danny's Car Wash and Danny's Family Market off Scottsdale Road. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said the officers were executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 16 locations, "as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations." Patrick Breen / The Republic N

A federal agent approaches Danny's Car Wash and Danny's Family Market off Scottsdale Road on Saturday. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said the officers were executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 16 locations, "as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations." Patrick Breen / The Republic N

Federal agents conduct their raid Saturday raid the Danny's Car Wash located at 1954 E Highland Avenue in Phoenix. Stacie Scott / The Republic N

By D.S. Woodfill The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
Sat Aug 17, 2013 1:49 PM

Federal agents on Saturday were conducting raids on 16 Danny’s Family Car Wash locations in the Valley, according to an official.

Amber Cargile, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, said the officers started executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 11 a.m. “as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations.”

Cargile said in an email the search warrant involved 16 businesses “as well as their outsourced staffing service provider, HR Betty.”

Cargile said she anticipated agents would be on scene for several hours.
“The grand jury indictment and associated warrants remain under seal in U.S. federal court,” Cargile said. “That prevents us from discussing the basis for the search or further details about the case at this time.”

Cargile said she expected the indictment would be unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Monday after the defendants’ initial appearances in federal court.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20130817arizona-dannys-car-wash-ice-immigration-raids-phoenix-brk.html?nclick_check=1

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Federal agents raid Phoenix-area Danny’s Car Wash locations


A Scottsdale police car is parked outside Danny's Car Wash and Danny's Family Market during a raid off Scottsdale Road on Saturday, August 17, 2013. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said the officers started executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 16 locations, "as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations." Patrick Breen / The Republic N


Federal agents conduct their raid Saturday raid the Danny's Car Wash located at 1954 E Highland Avenue in Phoenix. Stacie Scott / The Republic N


An investigator wearing a Homeland Security Investigations shirt is seen outside Danny's Car Wash and Danny's Family Market during a raid off Scottsdale Road on Saturday. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said the officers started executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 16 locations, "as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations." Patrick Breen / The Republic N


The scene Saturday outside Danny's Car Wash and Danny's Family Market off Scottsdale Road. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said the officers were executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 16 locations, "as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations." Patrick Breen / The Republic N

A federal agent approaches Danny's Car Wash and Danny's Family Market off Scottsdale Road on Saturday. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said the officers were executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 16 locations, "as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations." Patrick Breen / The Republic N

Federal agents conduct their raid Saturday raid the Danny's Car Wash located at 1954 E Highland Avenue in Phoenix. Stacie Scott / The Republic N

By D.S. Woodfill The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
Sat Aug 17, 2013 1:49 PM

Federal agents on Saturday were conducting raids on 16 Danny’s Family Car Wash locations in the Valley, according to an official.

Amber Cargile, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, said the officers started executing federal search warrants and arrest warrants at 11 a.m. “as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations.”

Cargile said in an email the search warrant involved 16 businesses “as well as their outsourced staffing service provider, HR Betty.”

Cargile said she anticipated agents would be on scene for several hours.
“The grand jury indictment and associated warrants remain under seal in U.S. federal court,” Cargile said. “That prevents us from discussing the basis for the search or further details about the case at this time.”

Cargile said she expected the indictment would be unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Monday after the defendants’ initial appearances in federal court.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20130817arizona-dannys-car-wash-ice-immigration-raids-phoenix-brk.html?nclick_check=1

thank you for a good job nowdon't for get check all of the other state & City also

. . . Its website, as well as local news reports, tout that Danny's car wash locations have been sites of numerous fund-raisers. A recent one involved members of the Phoenix, Gilbert, Scottsdale police departments, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and various fire departments raised $57,000.
The 25-year-old business also has a "Cop Coffee" program, in which law enforcement officers pay 25¢ for any coffee or fountain drink inside a Danny's convenience store . . .
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/17/justice/arizona-criminal-immigration-raid/index.html?eref=googletoolbar

UPDATE
Feds: 14 arrested in Phoenix-area car wash raids

Posted: Aug 17, 2013 12:37 PM PDT <em class="wnDate">Saturday, August 17, 2013 3:37 PM EST</em>Updated: Aug 18, 2013 4:50 PM PDT <em class="wnDate">Sunday, August 18, 2013 7:50 PM EST</em>
Posted by Eric Zott - email
By Allyson Blair - bio | email
Posted by Phil Benson - email



PHOENIX (CBS5) - Authorities confirmed Sunday that 14 people, four U.S. citizens and 10 Mexican nationals, were arrested by Homeland Security agents in raids at Danny's Family Carwash locations in Phoenix.

"We didn't even see them coming because they were in undercover cop cars," said Danny's Family Carwash employee Obed Dominguez.

Dominguez has worked detail at the carwash near Tatum and Paradise Village Parkway for about a year.

He said within minutes, all customers were forced to leave. Employees were rounded up into a group while agents searched their vehicles for weapons.

"The No. 1 manager was arrested first. He was making a phone call. They actually threw him against a car because he wouldn't let go of his phone," said Dominguez.
Agents questioned the workers for several hours.

"They were asking, like date of birth, where did we come from, how long we been working here," said Dominguez.

Besdies the 14 arrested, 30 workers were taken into custody by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations for administrative immigration enforcement processing, based on their prior criminal and/or immigration histories.

In all, 223 people were interviewed during the execution of the warrants.

"I want to make clear for the community that this was not an immigration enforcement operation. There were individuals that were arrested criminally. There are also individuals who are being interviewed that may be in the country undocumented. They are not our priority," said Homeland Security Press Secretary Barbara Gonzalez.

Officials said the two-year investigation targets the owners, corporate leadership and management of the car wash and its staffing provider, HR Betty.

Details about the investigation are sealed in federal court.

After the raid Dominguez was free to go but not before the feds seized his paycheck.

"We work really hard for our money, and we only get minimum wage," said Dominguez.

With no cash or word on when the business might reopen he told CBS 5 that he has a feeling there will be some hard days ahead.

Officials said undocumented workers taken into custody will be released as long as they have not been deported before and have no criminal history.

Everyone else will go before a judge on Monday.
http://www.kpho.com/story/23163294/feds-14-arrested-in-phoenix-area-car-wash-raids

The lawless open borders crowd has already started the bleeding heart routine and they have worn that record out. I have kids too and if I break the law I go to jail. The illegals are not exempt from the law because they have children and I think it shows a definite lack of responsibility on their part as they produce children for profit and personal gain. JMO

Bosses in Phoenix car wash chain held in immigration case

By Cindy Carcamo
August 18, 2013,



TUCSON — Supervisors and managers of a Phoenix-area car wash chain were taken into custody over the weekend in a large-scale workplace enforcement operation targeting immigration fraud, federal authorities confirmed Sunday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swarmed 16 locations associated with Danny’s Family Car Wash, including their staffing service provider, HR Betty, as part of an ongoing criminal inquiry that is also investigating possible identity theft, ICE spokeswoman Amber Cargile said in a statement.

Agents arrested 14 people, including four U.S. citizens and 10 Mexican nationals, who were expected to appear in federal court Monday.

Cargile said she could not identify those arrested or specify the charges against them because the federal grand jury indictment under which they were charged remained under seal until at least Monday.

A Danny’s Family Car Wash employee referred calls to a corporate office, where an answering service stated it was closed for the weekend.

Immigration agents interviewed 223 people as part of Saturday’s operation. Of those interviewed, 30 people were taken into custody by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officials for possible deportation, based on prior criminal or immigration histories, Cargile said.

Prosecutors elected not to charge the remaining 179 people who were interviewed, based on the agency’s enforcement guidelines, and they were released within hours, Cargile added.

“ICE is focused on sensible, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators,” Cargile said in the statement. “ICE exercises discretion on a case-by-case basis, as necessary to focus resources on the agency’s stated priorities.”

Activists with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and Puente Arizona were critical of the raids and arrests.

“The agency … rounded up hundreds of workers, placing some in handcuffs,” they said in a statement Sunday. “Yesterday's operation spread chaos, confusion and fear throughout the Phoenix area as family members went temporarily missing and word spread of ski-masked agents detaining car wash customers alongside workers across the city.”

Activists said they planned to mount a protest Monday morning at the ICE office in Phoenix.

“ICE operations terrorize our entire community,” said Nataly Cruz, an organizer with Puente Arizona. “And despite what they say, there are children who went to sleep without their parents last night and woke up this morning not knowing if they'd see them again.”

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...,5453047.story

The plot thickens....
Danny's Car Wash owner files Ch. 11

by J. Craig Anderson - Aug. 3, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Car-wash mogul Daniel "Danny" Hendon, founder of Danny's Family Companies and dozens of other local businesses, has filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Hendon's personal-bankruptcy petition, filed July 25 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, claims about $317 million in debts.

Among them is a $150 million claim by the state of Arizona, labeled "piercing corporate veil allegation." It refers to a state law that says individuals can be held personally liable for some corporate obligations if they fail to follow certain rules.

Hendon's bankruptcy attorney, Mark J. Giunta of Phoenix, did not respond to messages left this week with his answering service.
Phoenix attorneys Bryan Murphy and Andrew Abraham, representing the state in the bankruptcy case, were out of town early this week and could not be reached for comment.

In addition to the state's claim, Hendon's petition lists about $108 million in business debts for which he had made personal guarantees of repayment.

Hendon's "secured" debts, generally the first to be paid back in a bankruptcy proceeding, total about $20 million, according to the documents. They include $7.4 million on Hendon's home in Paradise Valley and $12.8 million on his home in Corona del Mar, Calif.

His personal net worth is $10.5 million, based on equity in the two homes, according to the bankruptcy documents.

Debtors filing for Chapter 11 reorganization usually are attempting to restructure debt without being forced to liquidate all assets.

The bankruptcy case of Hendon, a well-known entrepreneur and Arizona native who owns car washes and other businesses throughout the Valley, has been merged with 24 other Chapter 11 reorganization efforts filed by various Hendon-owned companies, most of them in the first quarter of 2010.

He also has been a key figure, along with business partner Bob Banovac, in efforts to expand Glendale's sports-and-entertainment district.

Hendon is listed in Arizona Corporation Commission records as the legal representative for nearly 90 separate companies.

Those companies, including car washes, retail stores, aviation-related businesses and restaurants, currently employ hundreds of Arizonans.

The bankruptcy filing does not specify what impact, if any, Hendon's debt-restructuring efforts might have on workers.

According to the Chapter 11 documents, Hendon's annual gross income is $441,600, for which no income-tax deductions are listed.

Hendon's primary expenses include $19,000 a month for payments on his two multimillion-dollar homes. He also is required to pay his wife, Kelly Hendon, about $4,800 a week based on a prenuptial agreement.

Other unsecured debts listed in the bankruptcy include about $8.7 million in legal settlements and judgments.

The Chapter 11 documents note that 20 additional civil lawsuits are pending against him, most of them in Maricopa County Superior Court and Orange County (Calif.) Superior Court.

Hendon's bankruptcy petition also lists $89,000 in credit-card debt.

http://www.azcentral.com/business/ar...les-ch-11.html

Feds: Danny's Family Car Wash helped fake ID's, rehired illegal workers

1. Posted: 5:24 AM
   Last Updated: 17 minutes ago

• By: abc15.com staff, wire reports

PHOENIX - Indictments from an investigation of a Phoenix-area car wash business and its staffing-service provider revealed Monday the company helped illegal workers seek fake identification.

Federal agents served search and arrest warrants Saturday at 16 locations associated with Danny's Family Car Wash and the company's staffing service provider, HR Betty.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the investigation targets the owners and leaders of the two businesses and that multiple people face charges of criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations.

According to the indictments, Danny's Family Car Wash was first notified in early 2011 after an audit revealed that a "substantial percentage" of their employees were working for the company illegally and did not have proper identification to work in the U.S.

The business then terminated 942 illegal workers in April 2011, the papers said.

Soon after, Danny's Family Car Wash began rehiring the same individuals and allowed them to assume "new" identities, and they "affirmatively assisted these unauthorized aliens in obtaining their 'new' identities --sometimes going so far as to help them secure counterfeit identification documents."

Stay with ABC15 News and abc15.com as details develop.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region...#ixzz2cSeGalyo

Danny's Family Car Wash raid: Half of those arrested plead guilty in Phoenix immigration fraud case


Federal raid at Danny's Family Car Wash at 20th Street and Highland Avenue
Photographer: Sara Goldenberg

Related Links

• Ex-Danny's employees question wages
• 200 victims of Danny's identity theft?
• Danny's managers 'doing what told'?
• Former Danny's workers' IDs stolen?
• Feds: PHX car wash helped fake IDs
• 15 arrested in PHX car wash raid

Posted: 1:27 PM
Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

• By: Associated Press

PHOENIX - A criminal case against a metro Phoenix car-wash chain accused of immigration fraud in its hiring practices has resulted in guilty pleas for half of the people arrested in a huge summertime raid.

More cases could be resolved in the coming weeks.

The resolution of the cases raises questions about whether the workers are pointing fingers at upper management at Danny's Family Car Wash, a company with locations all around the Phoenix area. All but one member of the company's top brass have so far been untouched by the case.

Five lower level managers have said at least one hire-up them to rehire workers who had to be fired after a federal audit found nearly half of its 1,900-person workforce had presented insufficient or ineligible records when they were hired.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region...#ixzz2l243JciU

10th manager for Danny's car-wash chain in Phoenix pleads guilty

Arizona Republic
A manager at a Valley car-wash chain raided last August by federal immigration-enforcement agents has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, the ...

See all stories on this topic »

Danny's Family Car Wash case: General Manager Jack Edlund pleads guilty to conspiracy charge


Photographer: AIR15

Posted: 4:13 PM
Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

• By: Associated Press

PHOENIX - A manager for a metropolitan Phoenix car-wash chain that's accused of immigration fraud in its hiring practices has pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge.

Jack Edlund is the highest-ranking staff member for Danny's Family Car Wash to have been charged in the case.

Edlund served as a general manager for the business from early 2011 to August 2013.

He pleaded guilty to the charge Friday.

Twelve of 14 Danny's managers who were charged have pleaded guilty.

Some lower-level managers who pleaded guilty have said that at least one higher-up within Danny's instructed them to rehire workers who had to be fired after a federal audit found nearly half of the company's 1,900-person workforce were people who weren't authorized to work in the United States.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region...#ixzz2r4ulNgwJ