A man who managed a restaurant in Ottawa, Kan., was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., for harboring undocumented workers, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
The manager was sentenced to six months in federal custody, followed by six months home confinement and a fine of $4,000. After serving his sentence, he will be on supervised release for three years.
Alex Sanchez Jr., 36, who was the manager of El Mezcal Mexican Restaurant in Ottawa, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of harboring undocumented workers for commercial advantage. In his plea, he admitted that in 2011 he paid a fine of $22,589 fine when Immigration and Customs Enforcement found him in violation of rules for I-9 employee eligibility verification forms.
Despite the fine, he continued to employ workers in 2012 who he knew were not legally in the United States, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. He provided housing for the undocumented workers and paid them in cash.
Grissom commended Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Wood for their work on the case.