In the space of about one week, word comes from ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) that big sentences were handed down in Federal Court in Florida in the Rosenbaum-Cunningham International (RCI) immigration scam and that big indictments were returned against five current managers in a New York case involving Pallet Management Division of IFCO Systems North America.
Work place raids, in which unauthorized unskilled workers are arrested, detained and then placed in removal proceedings often make headlines. However, the RCI and IFCO matters should be reminders to business executives and managers that if they break immigration laws, they are going to get hammered.
In the RCI matter, the company’s former president, a former vice-president and the former controller (who all previously entered guilty pleas on harboring illegal aliens and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. charges) were sentenced on March 3 to 120 months, 51 months and 30 months respectively. All three were also held to be jointly and severally liable for evaded federal taxes and were each ordered to pay well over $15 million. They had all previously been ordered to turn over bank accounts, life insurance policies, etc.
Is there any advantage that an executive thinks his company might be getting by hiring unauthorized workers that is worth risking incarceration and penalties like that?
In the IFCO matter, the managers have been charged with Conspiracy to Harbor Illegal Aliens, to Encourage and Induce Illegal Aliens, and to Transport Illegal Aliens. The job titles of the defendants are Vice President for New Market Development, New Market Development Manager, Operations Manager for New Market Development and Human Resources Manager. The investigation began in February 2005, when an employee at an IFCO plant called ICE to report that Hispanic workers were ripping up W-2 forms; the employee asked a manager about it and he was told that they were doing it because they were illegal aliens, had fake social security cards and didn’t intend to file their taxes.
Arrests soon followed and nearly 1,200 workers at IFCO’s 40 nationwide plants were detained. Seven IFCO managers later pled guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges and they are awaiting sentencing.
The newly announced charges carry a ten-year maximum term of imprisonment (although the maximum on the aiding and abetting charge is five years) and all the counts have a maximum potential fine of $250,000.
Executive and managers are clearly on notice that ICE is serious about enforcing immigration laws and not just against the individual unauthorized workers. Companies need to comply with I-9 regulations and if there is any thought that maybe a company has been a little lax with the I-9 forms, the company should get a good immigration attorney to come in and do a private I-9 audit and to train your HR people on I-9 requirements.
ICE is not fooling around.
