http://www.westfargopioneer.com/article ... m?id=11246

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30

Romanian man conspired to harbor illegals

The owner of a sub-contracting business that by hiring illegal aliens was able to undercut the bids of the competition was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Fargo Thursday, Nov. 30. Robert Adrian Porcisanu, a.k.a Iulian Jijie, 28, a citizen of Romania, pleaded guilty on behalf of himself and the business entity he incorporated, Stucco Design, Inc., for operating a construction subcontracting business that performed stucco-related work all over the United States, primarily with illegal alien employees.

Judge Ralph Erickson sentenced Porcisanu/Jijie to 18 months imprisonment along with a $100 special assessment for Porcisanu/Jijie and $100 special assessment for Stucco Design, Inc. Porcisanu/Jijie also agreed to the forfeiture of approximately $1.5 million in bank accounts that were seized by law enforcement during the investigation.

The prosecution stems from a traffic stop made by the North Dakota Highway Patrol near Fargo on Oct. 26, 2005. When officers determined that the four men in the truck could not speak English, they contacted the U.S. Border Patrol in Grand Forks for assistance. Border Patrol agents responded and arrested the men on charges of being in the U.S. illegally.

All four illegal aliens were employees of Stucco Design, Inc., and had been working in Dickinson, N.D., at a construction site for a Wal-Mart Supercenter. All four men told Border Patrol agents that when Stucco Design, Inc., hired them, they did not complete required paperwork, and did not show documents to establish they were eligible to work legally in the U.S., as required by law. They also stated that their bosses knew they were in the country illegally.

Agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a several-month investigation and were able to establish that Porcisanu/Jijie and Stucco Design, Inc., were able to undercut the bids of competitors and win contracts by hiring illegal aliens and taking advantage of cheaper labor costs.

“This was a significant case for us because it is important for us to deter and take away the economic incentive to hire illegal workers,” stated Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Chase. “In addition to the jail time, it was particularly important for us to forfeit over 95 percent of the funds that were in the corporate and personal bank accounts of the defendants.”