November 28, 2007

Wisconsin man sentenced for smuggling aliens into U.S. to work at motels

MADISON, Wis. - A Wisconsin man was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in prison for smuggling illegal aliens from Guatemala into the United States to live and work at two local Super 8 Motels. The sentence is the result of an investigation by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Siddhartha "Sam" Shah, 51, of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., was sentenced Nov. 27 by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to 21 months in prison and a $20,000 fine for smuggling and harboring four illegal aliens at Shah's Super 8 Motels in Wisconsin Dells and Pleasant Prairie from 2005 to 2007. Shah pleaded guilty to this charge Aug. 23.

Shah traveled to Guatemala and arranged to smuggle workers to the United States so that they could work at his motels. One of the workers lived in a utility closet at one of Shah's motels. In sentencing Shah to the high end of the applicable sentencing guideline range, Judge Crabb found that the seriousness of the offense warranted the relatively high sentence.

"Employers who take advantage of illegal labor to gain a competitive advantage for their own profit will be prosecuted," said Elissa A. Brown, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Chicago. "ICE has no patience for employers who tolerate or perpetuate a shadow economy."

ICE was assisted in the investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General, and the Wisconsin Dells Police Department. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen P. Sinnott, Western District of Wisconsin, successfully prosecuted this case.

Shah and his co-defendant Jignesh "Mark" Jagaria, 36, of Wisconsin Dells, Wis., were arrested by ICE agents on June 11. Jagaria is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 11. Shah, a U.S. permanent resident from India, will be transferred to ICE custody for deportation after he completes his prison sentence.

-- ICE --