Business Owners Sentenced for Employing Illegal Aliens

PILI CHEN, 56, of Norcross, Georgia, who was both an employment agency owner and driver, was sentenced today (April 21) by United States District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. for recruiting and employing illegal aliens in Chinese restaurants, where they were provided housing and transportation to work. Today’s sentencing follows the January 2011 sentencings in a related case of owners and operators of a neighboring agency and a Chinese restaurant in the Atlanta area.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the case, “These defendants not only broke the law by employing workers who were illegally in the United States, they exploited the workers by subjecting them to long shifts, substandard pay, and poor working conditions. As this case shows, we will hold employers responsible—including business owners and managers—who attempt to gain an unlawful economic advantage by hiring employees who are not permitted to be in the United States.”

“These sentencings send a clear message that there are real consequences for willfully recruiting and employing an illegal workforce,” said Brock Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta. “Working in conjunction with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively target those who take advantage of illegal labor to make a profit.”

FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin said, “This case was the result of a joint FBI/ICE operation which shut down a network that not only recruited and employed illegal aliens but exploited their vulnerabilities. Human trafficking, no matter what the underlying purpose is for, is a process of systematically exploiting others for personal gain. The FBI remains committed in its endeavor of combating human trafficking in all of its many and varied forms, including alien smuggling.”

PILI CHEN, 56, of Norcross, Georgia, was sentenced to one year and four months in prison to be followed by three years’ supervised release. On January 31, 2011, Judge Evans sentenced three defendants. AI LIN FU, 41, of Norcross, Georgia, was sentenced to one year and two months in prison. SAU TING CHENG, 42, of Duluth, Georgia, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and a $3,000 fine. LIANG FENG CHEN, 33, of Duluth, Georgia, was sentenced to two years’ probation, including three months of home confinement, and a $1,000 fine. FU, CHENG, and PILI CHEN’s prison sentences are to be followed by three years of supervised release.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: PILI CHEN and co-defendant XIAO PING LI, owned and operated an employment agency named “New Fuzhou” in Chamblee, Georgia, while AI LIN FU owned and operated a similar agency, “Zhong Mei Employment Agency,” in the same Chamblee shopping center.

The agencies obtained employment for illegal aliens, primarily undocumented Mexican workers, across the eastern United States. Neither agency required or requested any proof that the aliens had permission to be or work in the United States. They advertised in Chinese language newspapers and on the Internet. Employers called the agencies and requested workers for various jobs, usually in the kitchens of Chinese restaurants. The agencies charged the illegal aliens a commission and transportation fee to place them in the job and drive them there, and in some cases charged the restaurant owners, who deducted the fees from their illegal workers’ modest pay. FU’s husband and co-defendant, XIAN CHEN, operated Zhong Mei Employment Agency with FU and drove workers to the restaurants. PILI CHEN operated New Fuzhou with his wife XIAO PING LI, and also transported the workers. The employment agencies used paid drivers to minimize contact between the illegal aliens and the outside world, including law enforcement. XIAN CHEN fled to Canada after the indictment and has been ordered extradited to the United States. XIAO PING LI remains a fugitive.

SAU TING CHENG owned and operated a Chinese restaurant in Duluth, Georgia, named “Grand Buffet and Grill.” LIANG FENG CHEN was the manager at the restaurant. CHENG and CHEN hired illegal aliens through Zhong Mei Employment Agency. To better monitor the workers and shield them from detection, CHENG housed them at a nearby apartment complex and had them transported to and from work in 15-passenger vans. She also paid the workers in cash to avoid paying unemployment taxes. As the restaurant manager, CHEN participated in the pattern of hiring and employing the workers, knowing that the aliens were unauthorized to work in the United States, and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for his more limited role in the scheme.

These cases were part of a larger operation in June 2010 that involved the separate indictments of the owners and drivers of four employment agencies at 3146 Chamblee Dunwoody Road and the administrative arrests of 39 illegal aliens associated with the agencies and restaurants.

This case was investigated by special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (HSI), Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Brian M. Pearce and Stephen H. McClain prosecuted the cases.

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Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy for Participation in Fraudulent Driver's License Ring

GUO XING SONG, a/k/a “Andi Chen,” 43, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty today in federal district court to two charges in connection with his participation in a fraudulent driver's license ring and to a charge of aggravated identity theft in connection with the sale of a Social Security card issued to another individual by the Social Security Administration.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This defendant, along with his coconspirator who worked for Georgia Driver's Services, arranged for illegal Chinese nationals to obtain Georgia driver's licenses without documentation and without even taking the driver's exam. The customers paid $2000 to $3000 for real driver's licenses. Now the defendants face real time.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: SONG, who lived in Atlanta between 2001 and 2006, placed ads in a Atlanta area Chinese language newspaper, claiming he could assist persons who did not have documentation to obtain driver’s licenses in Georgia and other states. Persons responding to the ads were instructed to meet SONG or a co-conspirator at a designated location, usually a gas station or shopping center parking lot. They were then driven from the Atlanta area to Georgia Driver’s Service locations in either Colquitt or Thomasville, Georgia. The alleged co-conspirators in that part of the scheme, ZHONG LIANG LI, 34, and his brother, ZHONG HUA LI, 31, formerly of Colquitt, Georgia, were indicted by a federal grand jury on January 19, 2010, and are awaiting trial.

A co-defendant in the case who has already pleaded guilty, CLEVELAND SPENCER, 47, of Thomasville, Georgia, is a former Georgia Driver’s examiner who worked at those Driver’s Service locations. He admitted issuing driver’s licenses to SONG’s customers without requiring any documentation showing legal residence in the United States or the state of Georgia. SPENCER also did not issue the required written and road test examinations to SONG’s customers. SONG or his alleged co-conspirators paid SPENCER for fraudulently issuing the licenses. SPENCER reportedly received $250 to $400 per license. SONG’s customers paid SONG approximately $2,000 to $3,000 for the licenses. Georgia Driver’s records indicate that approximately 300 licenses were fraudulently issued.

In December 2006, SONG sold a genuine Social Security card to a confidential informant, who was purportedly buying it for a Chinese national who was illegally in the United States. The Social Security card actually belonged to an individual who had previously been in the United States on a temporary work visa and returned to China.

SPENCER pleaded guilty to the conspiracy on April 27, 2010, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14, 2010, at 10:30 a.m.

SONG was indicted on the charges on January 19, 2010. Today he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft. He could receive a maximum possible sentence of up five years in prison on the conspiracy count, and faces a minimum mandatory sentence of two years for the aggravated identity theft. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. In determining the actual sentence on the conspiracy count, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 2, 2010, at 10:30 a.m., before United States District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr.

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Owners of Employment Agencies and Restaurants Indicted

Five individuals have been indicted by a federal grand jury in three separate indictments on charges of conspiring to induce undocumented aliens to enter and remain in the United States by providing them with employment, predominantly at Chinese restaurants, all for commercial gain. In addition, three more individuals were arrested yesterday on criminal complaints and are expected to have their bond hearings and arraignments today before United States Magistrate Judge Janet F. King.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “These defendants allegedly provided jobs that frequently exploited the workers by subjecting them to long shifts, six days a week, often with substandard pay and living conditions. On top of that, the defendants took large deductions from the workers’ pay to reimburse themselves for the costs of the employment agencies’ illegal services.”

“We are focused on finding and penalizing employers who believe they can unfairly get ahead by cultivating illegal workplaces and by exploiting illegal aliens,” said ICE Acting Special Agent in Charge, Robert Andrews. “By joining forces with the FBI, we will continue rooting out this criminal activity. The message is clear: all employers must play by the rules.”

FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin said, “Yesterday and today's joint FBI/ICE operation should serve as notice to those individuals and businesses that traffic and exploit undocumented immigrants. The FBI remains committed to working with U.S. ICE agents as we enforce federal law.”

The three indictments were unsealed after ICE and FBI conducted joint field operations to arrest the defendants and execute search warrants yesterday and today. Named in the indictments as part of the criminal conspiracies are:

* PILI CHEN, 55, of Tucker, Georgia;
* AI LIN FU, 40, of Norcross, Georgia;
* CHUN YAN LIN, 44, of Chamblee, Georgia;
* XIANG MEI KE, 32, of Duluth, Georgia; and
* JING XING JIANG, 42, of Lawrenceville, Georgia;

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: CHUN YAN LIN, AI LIN FU and PILI CHEN, owned employment agencies, named “New Fuzhou,” “Zhong Mei,” and “Lucky,” all in Chamblee, Georgia, and conspired with others to transport and provide jobs to illegal aliens. The agency owners primarily placed the illegal aliens mainly in restaurant jobs in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia. The employment agencies did not require or request any proof that the aliens had permission to be or work in the United States. The employment agencies allegedly advertised in Asian language newspapers and on the Internet. They charged the undocumented aliens a commission and transportation fee to place them in a restaurant or other job site and to drive them there, or in some cases charged the restaurant owners, who deducted the fees from their illegal workers’ modest pay. Another individual arrested yesterday during the ICE/FBI joint enforcement operation, CHUNBIAO XU, 33, of Norcross, Georgia, now faces the same charges as the other employment agency defendants.

Co-conspirators XIANG MEI KE and JING XING JIANG owned and operated restaurants, named “Hong Kong Super Buffet,” in Gainesville, Georgia, and “Fuji Buffet,” in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where they used undocumented aliens brokered by the conspiring employment agencies. The restaurant owners often provided housing, sometimes in their own houses, to the workers in order to better monitor them and shield them from detection, and paid the workers in cash to avoid paying unemployment taxes. Also arrested yesterday were LIANG FENG CHEN, 32, and SAU TING CHENG, 41, both of Duluth, Georgia, who owned and operated “Grand Buffet and Grill,” a restaurant in Duluth, Georgia, and were charged in criminal complaints with conspiracy to encourage and induce aliens to reside illegally in the United States.

PILI CHEN also allegedly transported the undocumented aliens in a private vehicle from the employment agencies to the illegal job sites. The employment agencies used paid drivers to minimize contact between the undocumented aliens and the outside world, including law enforcement.

All defendants face federal charges of conspiring to induce undocumented aliens to enter and remain in the United States by providing them with employment, predominantly at Chinese restaurants, all for commercial gain. AI LIN FU faces additional charges of transporting aliens for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain, in reckless disregard of the fact that the aliens were in the United States and remained here in violation of the law. This joint ICE/FBI investigation continues.

During yesterday’s joint operation, 39 individuals were administratively detained by ICE for being in the United States without documentation. Their cases are expected to be handled administratively and they are expected to be deported from the United States.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The transportation charge also carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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Co-Conspirators Sentenced to Prison for Alien Harboring Crimes

PIK TO CHENG, 49, a/k/a “Shirley Wise,” of Norcross, Georgia; LIN CHEN, 33, of Tucker, Georgia; and FRANCISCO MARTINEZ-ANAYA, 47, of Chamblee, Georgia, were each sentenced to prison April 28, 2009, by Chief United States District Judge Julie E. Carnes on charges of conspiracy to engage in alien harboring and transportation of aliens.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the sentencings, “These defendants ran businesses whose primary function was to find jobs for illegal immigrants at Chinese restaurants and other Asian-run businesses. Those who knowingly provide illegal workers with the means of getting a job violate federal law, as do the employers of illegal immigrants. Cheng’s ‘Number One Employment Agency’ and Chan’s ‘Da Zhong Employment Agency’ were often one of the first stops for illegal immigrants in Georgia. These businesses have now been dismantled. Other business owners who place illegal immigrants in jobs will also face prosecution and prison.”

Kenneth Smith, Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Investigations in Atlanta said, “Employers that seek to gain an unfair business advantage over their competitors by using illegal workers should take note of today's sentences. Investigations like this one are an essential part of our enforcement strategy. ICE remains resolute in our responsibility to hold employers accountable for their actions, to give law-abiding businesses a fair chance to compete.”

Greg Jones, FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge, said, “Today’s sentences demonstrate that the FBI, by working together in this investigation and similar investigations with our law enforcement partners, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and United States Postal Service, Atlanta, Georgia, can have a significant impact on the criminal element operating within our community and beyond. Although the employment agencies were based here in the Atlanta area, their placement of workers reached far beyond the state. This safe-haven for illegal workers has been dismantled as a result of this collective effort.”

Martin D. Phanco, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division, said, “These crimes involving illegal workers often involve fake documentation and paperwork. The U.S. Postal Inspectors will work hard and diligently with our partners to make sure we go after criminals who use phony documents, and use people, for their personal gain.”

CHENG, who cooperated with the government by providing information in related cases, was sentenced to 1 year, 6 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. CHENG pleaded guilty to these charges on November 24, 2008. CHEN, who cooperated with the government and testified against another employment agency owner, was sentenced to 1 year, 3 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. CHEN pleaded guilty to these charges on August 28, 2008, and will be deported upon completion of her sentence. MARTINEZ-ANAYA was sentenced to 1 year, 6 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. MARTINEZ-ANAYA pleaded guilty to these charges on November 24, 2008, and will be deported upon completion of his sentence.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: The employment agencies operated by CHENG and CHEN placed illegal immigrant workers in Chinese restaurants in various states, including Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, and New York, and in a warehouse in Florida. On one occasion, CHENG placed two workers in a Chinese restaurant in New York, essentially exchanging them for two workers who had been at the restaurant. The workers often worked 12 hours a day, six to seven days a week. It was common for the same worker to return to the employment agencies looking for new jobs. Some workers told the government that they were never asked for documents authorizing them to work. CHENG and CHEN would make a commission for every worker they placed. The men who drove workers to their job locations, including MARTINEZ-ANAYA, would make money off the transportation as well.

On at least one occasion, when a job placement did not work out, MARTINEZ-ANAYA arranged for transportation back to Chamblee so the illegal immigrant could find another job. While waiting for another job, MARTINEZ-ANAYA housed the illegal immigrant in a “safe house” he owned. During an undercover operation, an ICE confidential informant was told by MARTINEZ-ANAYA that he did not need any documentation in order to work.

CHEN testified in the trial of LIANG YANG, who was convicted by a jury last week. CHEN outlined how she and other agency owners located at 3425 Chamblee Dunwoody Road acted essentially as brokers between illegal workers coming to their agencies looking for jobs and restaurant owners calling the agencies looking for cheap labor. CHEN testified that only 1 in 100 workers for whom she found jobs were legal. She also testified that restaurant owners liked more recently arrived workers as they did not know as much about the system and could be paid less than illegal immigrants who had been in the United States for a longer period of time.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Postal Inspectors with the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Pearce, Susan Coppedge, Mary Kruger and Michael J. Brown prosecuted the case.

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