March 13, 2007

8 former Swift & Co. employees in Cactus, Texas, plead guilty

AMARILLO, Texas - Eight people pleaded guilty today to felony charges stemming from the Dec. 12 worksite enforcement operation at the Swift & Co. meat-processing plant in Cactus, Texas. These pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper, Northern District of Texas, following the investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

One of the defendants pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the United States after he had been deported, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years incarceration and a $250,000 fine.

Two defendants pleaded guilty to falsely representing a Social Security number as belonging to them in order to obtain employment at Swift; this carries a maximum punishment of five years incarceration and a $250,000 fine. Five defendants pleaded guilty to using fraudulently obtained identity documents, including a Social Security card, to make it appear as though they were U.S. citizens legally authorized to live and work in the United States to gain employment at Swift; this carries a maximum punishment of 10 years incarceration and a $250,000 fine.

"The ICE investigation conducted around the Swift & Company plants discovered a number of cases of suspected identity theft," said John Chakwin, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Dallas. "The ICE investigation has shown how individual U.S. citizens are tragically affected when aliens steal identities to obtain work. The aliens who pleaded guilty today will first serve their sentences before they're removed to their countries of origin."

The defendants will be sentenced at a later date. Forty-five cases remain pending against other defendants.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the excellent cooperative work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Border Patrol, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams, Northern District of Texas, of the Lubbock, Texas branch.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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