Guilty plea in immigrant scheme

By BEN FINLEY
Bucks County Courier Times

A Falls man pleaded guilty Monday in federal court for his part in a scheme that allegedly employed illegal immigrants and provided them with stolen identities at a Horsham-based company's car washes.

Timothy Gibson, 36, of Thornridge Drive faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release if convicted, officials said.

Gibson's Philadelphia-based attorney, Creed C. Black Jr., said neither he nor his client has any comment on the matter.

Gibson was released from jail on his own recognizance last month, officials said. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 7 in federal court in Philadelphia. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, harbor illegal aliens and commit identity theft, officials said.

None of the car washes involved in the alleged scheme was in Bucks County.

Gibson was the manager of the Super Bright Car Wash on East Germantown Pike in Norristown in 2005 and 2006, when 90 percent of its workers were found to be illegal immigrants, according to the federal indictment. They worked under the identities of people who were former, legitimate employees, officials said.

Gibson and four other managers of area car washes owned by Car Care Inc. allegedly provided each illegal worker with a stolen identity, including a Social Security number, of a former employee.

As the illegal workers came and went, the identity of one former employee was often assigned to several illegal immigrants, officials said. That way, the managers wouldn't have to file termination papers when the workers quit, according to court documents.


The stolen identities allowed the immigrants to cash or deposit their checks at local banks.

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