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May 14, 2007
12 plead guilty to fraud following QSI worksite enforcement operation
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Twelve defendants pleaded guilty last week to fraud and misusing employment documents related to a criminal worksite enforcement investigation against Quality Service Integrity Inc. (QSI) in Beardstown, Ill. These latest guilty pleas resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The following four defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Byron Cudmore May 11 and pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud and misusing employment documents: Ricardo Hernandez-Zamora, 29; Wilder Fernando Cruz-Hidalgo, 38; Edgar Cruz-Hidalgo, 35; and Jose Villanueva-Gomez, 58.
The following eight defendants pleaded guilty to the same offense May 10: Carmela Moreno-Mejia, 22; Evelia Martinez-Mata, 40; Cynthia Cordero-Lujan, 36; Alejandra Villanueva-Perez, 25; Luis Raul Guerrero-Tarango, 37; Jose Israel Orona de Anda, 42; Jesus Martin Cruz-Hidalgo, 37; and Jorge Enrique Trujillo-Valdez, 34.
Individual sentencing hearings have been scheduled for July 5 and 6 before U.S. District Judge Jeanne E. Scott. The offenses of fraud and misusing employment documents are punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine.
The remaining six defendants in the case have been scheduled for trial on July 3. They include: Alvaro Juarez-Colin, 21; Saul Sanchez-Gomez, 27; Manuelle Moreno-Mejia, 18; and Gaudencio Flores-Mondragon, 37, each charged with fraud and misuse of employment documents.
Two former managers at QSI's Beardstown operation, Gerardo Dominguez-Chacon, 35, and Maria del Pilar Marroquin, 40, both of Beardstown, also appeared for arraignment May 11 and have been scheduled for trial July 3. Both defendants are charged with harboring illegal aliens.
The indictment alleges that from December 2006 to April 3, 2007, Dominguez-Chacon and del Pilar Marroquin knowingly concealed and harbored illegal aliens who had entered or remained in the United States unlawfully, and used false and assumed names to allow them to work at QSI. The indictment also charges Dominguez-Chacon with three counts of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.
If convicted, the offense of harboring illegal aliens carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison. For aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft, the penalty is a mandatory two years in prison.
Members of the public are reminded that indictments are merely accusations; the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Each of the defendants was employed by QSI, which provides contractual cleaning and sanitation services for the Cargill pork processing plant in Beardstown. The defendants were arrested and previously charged in criminal complaints. All 18 defendants were previously ordered, or consented to be detained, in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending future court appearances.
The charges resulted from a criminal worksite enforcement operation conducted by ICE April 4. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore, Central District of Illinois, is prosecuting this case.
"ICE is aggressively pursuing employers who egregiously violate the law," said Elissa A. Brown, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Chicago. "All employers in all industries and locations must comply with the nation's laws. ICE, and our law enforcement partners, will continue to enforce immigration laws from all angles, including: criminal charges, asset seizures, administrative arrests and deportations." Brown heads a six-state area that includes: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin.
-- ICE --
