An Alabama couple has been convicted on federal charges of conspiring to transport illegal workers and money laundering, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The court found Haleyville residents Deivin Marquitos Escalante-Vasquez and Crystal Gail Escalante, ages 31 and 38 respectively, guilty of having provided illegal laborers to Georgia-based Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Jasper over a three-year period.
AP reports that the couple partook in a scheme which provided false identification, homes for housing foreign nationals and vans used for transportation.
Through The Grand Family Enterprise (GFE), the couple’s staffing company, they were charged with using false names and vans to shuttle the workers to the Jasper plant. From their illegal activity, the couple received a total of $16 million. Authorities alleged the illegal aliens resided in housing owned by the company, according to AP.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) led a two-year investigation into the matter, which resulted in the conviction.
An employee of the poultry plant in 2018 contacted an agent with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) after noticing that one of the workers provided by the staffing company was using the same name and social security number as one of the laborers at the Mar-Jac plant in Mississippi, ABC 33/40 reports.
Prosecutors alleged in the trial overseen by U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler that the workers, many of whom were from Guatemala, used false identification to fill multiple shifts at the poultry plant. The workers’ names were changed by the couple to get them through the federal E-Verify system, which determines the eligibility of workers based upon citizenship status. Even when the workers failed to gain approval through the system, the workers remained on their payroll.
Mar-Jac Poultry reportedly maintained that it had no knowledge of the scheme orchestrated by GFE and insisted during the case it would fully cooperate with authorities.
U.S. Attorney Prim Escalon said in a statement, “This conviction demonstrates how individuals willing to break the law can take advantage of immigration laws for personal gain.”
The couple faces up to 30 years in prison. AP reports that prosecutors will attempt to seize property, bank accounts and vehicles belonging to the convicted. Sentencing is scheduled to take place February 24, 2022.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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