The owners and operators of Foley, Alabama’s Colt Grill BBQ & Spirits have been hit with charges of systematically hiring illegal migrants as workers.
Federal officials raided the chain’s Foley location on July 15 as part of a larger sweep across six counties in the Yellowhammer State, the Press-Register reported at AL.com.
Headquartered in Arizona, Colt Grill’s other four locations in Arizona — Sedona, Prescott, Prescott Valley, and Cottonwood — were also raided at the same time.
The owners, Brenda and Robert Clouston, were charged with five immigration and employment offenses and prosecutors said they had a pattern of knowingly hiring undocumented workers for their restaurants.
Two Colt Grill employees, Rogel-Jaimes and Romero-Molina, were also arrested on the same five charges.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) press release.
Prosecutors allege that the chain hired the illegals through a shell company so that the restaurant could make an end run around employment regulations and documentation requirements. The shell company reportedly provided lodging and transportation for the workers as well.
“The businesses won’t have to pay the appropriate taxes on those wages,” Josh Kolsrud, a Former Federal Prosecutor, told KSBY-TV. “So they’re saving money on two different fronts, one with payroll and the second with taxes with the U.S. and state governments, so that there’s a lot of financial incentives to try to cheat the government in this aspect.”
The Cloustons and their two employees have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Five people identified as witnesses have been detained by ICE officials because they are all in the country illegally. Their availability for a trial is not currently known.
Four of the charges carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence each and the fifth carries a sentence of up to six months.
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