FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 19, 2007

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Newport-News Based Corporation and Officers Plead Guilty to Harboring and Employing Illegal Aliens and Agree to Forfeit $6.2 Million in Illegal Profits



(Norfolk, VA) - William Francis Peabody, age 63, and Yvonne Michelle Peabody, age 35, of Newport News, pled guilty today in Norfolk federal court to a criminal information charging them with unlawful employment of aliens. Yvonne Peabody also pled guilty to a second count of aiding unauthorized access to a federal government computer. Peabody Corporation, a commercial fishing company located in Newport News which is owned and operated by the Peabodys, pled guilty to harboring illegal aliens. Dana Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Cassandra M. Chandler, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Norfolk Field Division, also announced that sentencing is scheduled before United States District Judge Raymond A. Jackson on March 6, 2008. Judge Jackson deferred acceptance of the plea agreements until the Court also reviews the presentence reports in this case.

In the plea agreement, William Peabody agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and faces a maximum of six months in prison. Yvonne Michelle Peabody agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and faces a maximum of one year in prison. Peabody Corp. agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and faces a forfeiture of $6,258,638 in illegal profits.

According to court documents, William Peabody and Yvonne Peabody employed at least 126 illegal aliens on 332 of their commercial fishing ship voyages between 2003 and 2006. These voyages yielded the Peabody's approximately $6,900,000 in illegal profits. On at least 72 occasions, the illegal aliens used fraudulent social security cards in connection with their employment. Peabody Corp. vessels were boarded by the Coast Guard on several occasions and fraudulent identification documents were seized. According to the statement of facts, a video-taped recording obtained by the FBI showed William Peabody counseling people he believed to be illegal aliens that they needed to get fake identity documents if they wanted to work at Peabody Corp.

This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Social Security Administration, and the Norfolk Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Blair Smith Perez and Joseph DePadilla are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.