Pilgrim's Pride workers jailed in fraud case
No civil or criminal charges filed on company

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By RANDY ROSS

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Twenty-four people, including 21 employees of Pilgrim's Pride, have been arrested on ID fraud and immigration violation charges, according to U.S. Attorney John L. Ratcliffe.

"Pilgrim's Pride is cooperating fully with the government's investigation," said Ray Atkinson, the company's director of corporate communications.

No civil or criminal charges have been filed against the company. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Jackson said there is nothing in the public record to suggest Pilgrim's Pride was at fault.

The suspects were arrested Tuesday. Twenty-two were arrested in Titus County, and two were arrested in Camp County.

Nearly 5,000 people are employed at the company's Mount Pleasant and Pittsburg locations, Atkinson said.

The facilities use E-Verify, an employment eligibility program under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to verify the authenticity of employee Social Security numbers and personal information. The program does not detect identity theft.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Daniel Totosaus-Rodriguez and Marcos Garcia were selling false identification documents, including Social Security cards and birth certificates, used by illegal immigrants to assist in gaining employment. The men could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison.

Jose Luis Garcia was charged with re-entry into the country with false identification documents after having been denied admission in 2001. He could be sentenced to up to two years in prison.

Reyna Villarreal was charged with making a false statement. According to the complaint against her, she submitted a naturalization application form stating that she was a citizen of Mexico and certifying that she had never claimed to be a U.S. citizen, but she had previously indicated on an immigration form she was a U.S. citizen. She could face a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Twenty people were charged with using a false Social Security number, a charge that carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

They are: Maria Dominguez, Maria Vega-Cruz, Rosauro Moran-Rodriguez, Jose Ramirez, German Yepez-Guzman, Gamaniel Basaldue-Reyes, Rigoberto Canada-Lopez, Rigoberto Carmona-Ramirez, Cecilia Perez-Lazaro, Emilio Mejia-Angulo, Jose de Jesus Ramos-Castillo, Victor Martinez-Quinonez, Jose Arellano-Vasquez, Damacio Tomas-Quirino, Jose Martinez-Ramirez, Victor Perez-Sepulveda, Alejandro Claudio-Hernandez, Norma Mendoza-Baldobinos, Germahin Anguino and Silvestre Castro-Rodriguez.

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