Fayetteville Police warn of new scam

The bleak job market has created a sense of desperation among many and a recent scam seeks to exploit that desperation. A Fayetteville man is out over $17,000 after responding to an on-line ad for employment.

The ad promised $1,000 for two weeks worth of research for an on-line concierge service. The Fayetteville victim completed the research and submitted his invoice for payment. He was requested to send his bank account information to the company to enable a direct deposit. He received a deposit of over $9,000 into his account a few days later.

He was then contacted, told he had accidentally been over paid and was asked to send $8,000 via Western Union to a person in Russia. Once the money was sent via Western Union, the money was immediately withdrawn from his bank account leaving him responsible for the original deposit plus the money he wired. The Fayetteville Police Department has issued the following advisement:

1) Do not respond to on-line or e-mailed ads from unknown or non established sources.

2) If you cannot meet your boss face to face, you do not want to work for them.

3) Never send money to anyone you do not know, PERIOD!

4) Check the Better Business Bureau, www.bbb.org, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, www.ic3.gov, and Federal Trade Commission, ftc.gov websites for information about businesses and complaints.

5) If something seems to good to be true, it probably is.

The Fayetteville Police Department is still investigating the incident. If anyone has been a victim of this scam, they are encouraged to contact Detective Mike Whitlow at the Fayetteville Police Department, (770) 461-4441.

-----
Community News You Can Use
Click to read MORE news:
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
Twitter: @gafrontpage & @TheGATable @HookedonHistory
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga, @softnblue, @RimbomboAAG @FayetteFP

Governor Announces CCA Awarded Corrections Contract in Georgia

CCA Jenkins Correctional Center to bring up to 200 jobs

Governor Perdue announced today that CCA, the nation's leader in partnership corrections, has been awarded a contract by the Georgia Department of Corrections to manage up to 1,150 male inmates in the CCA Jenkins Correctional Center, which will be designed, constructed, owned and operated by CCA on property currently owned by the company in Millen.

“This is yet another great example of public-private partnerships in Georgia,” said Governor Perdue. “By partnering with CCA, Jenkins County will see a positive economic impact that will include up to 200 full-time jobs.”

CCA anticipates beginning construction of the $56.8 million prison in approximately three months and expects to be ready to receive the first Georgia inmates in the first quarter of 2012. CCA already has a strong presence in the state of Georgia, operating a total of five prisons and detention centers, employing approximately 1,500 corrections professionals with about $54 million annual payroll and paying nearly $8 million in property taxes and utilities annually.

“For more than 12 years, CCA and the State of Georgia have worked in close partnership as CCA has provided safe, secure corrections management solutions that save hardworking taxpayers' dollars,” said Damon Hininger, CCA president and chief executive officer. “We are proud to currently own and operate two prisons in Georgia for the state and greatly value being entrusted with an expanded partnership that allows us to build and operate the CCA Jenkins Correctional Center.”

"We are so very grateful to the residents, business and civic leaders and the elected officials in Millen and all of Jenkins County for showing us such an outpouring of support over the past months, when CCA was in the process of proposing that Georgia build and operate a prison on our Millen property, " said Tony Grande, CCA executive vice president and chief development officer.

In addition to owning and operating the Wheeler Correctional Facility in Alamo and the Coffee Correctional Facility in Nicholls for Georgia, CCA owns and operates the McRae Correctional Facility in McRae on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. For Immigration and Customs Enforcement, CCA owns and operates the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin and operates the North Georgia Detention Center in Gainesville. Collectively, CCA is responsible for more than 7,000 inmates and detainees in Georgia.

CCA has named Flintco as the national contractor for this project and is working with the architectural firm, DLR Group.

About CCA
CCA is the nation’s largest provider of partnership corrections to federal, state and local government, operating more than 60 facilities, including more than 40 company-owned facilities, with approximately 87,000 beds, in 19 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to providing the residential services for inmates, CCA facilities offer rehabilitation and educational programs, including education, vocation, religious services, life skills and employment training and substance abuse treatment, knowing that positive behaviors learned in prison means these individuals are less likely to re-commit crimes. CCA has operated prisons as a partner to federal, state and local government for more than 25 years. CCA facilities follow the strictest accreditation standards of the American Correctional Association, the oldest, largest and most respected correctional organization in the world. CCA combines the strict oversight from government with the efficiency of business – and that means safe, humanely-operated prisons that provide cost savings to taxpayers. Forbes magazine has named CCA as one of “America’s Best Big Companies" and Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine ranked CCA as one of the nation’s “Top 100 Corporate Citizens”. Please visit www.correctionscorp.com for general overview of CCA.

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.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage