Operator Of Temporary Employment Agencies With Contracted Services In Scranton And Wilkes-Barre Sentenced

    The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Ethan Nguyen, age 34, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik to a 12 month plus one-day term of imprisonment, two years of supervised release and a $300 fine. Judge Kosik further ordered that Nguyen pay $45,128 in restitution to the Pennsylvania Department of Unemployment Insurance.

     According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, beginning in 2007 Ethan Nguyen operated Four Seasons Services, a temporary employment agency with offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and contracted with businesses in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre area to provide day labor employees.

     Together with co-defendants, Andri Gunawan and Eleni Nguyen, the employment agency contracted with various third party businesses to provide temporary, day labor employees. The co-defendants would fulfill these contracts by hiring illegal aliens and paying the illegal aliens cash “under the table,” failing to pay various federal, state and local taxes, fees or compensation insurance.  In this way, the temporary employment agency was able to greatly increase its profits for providing such temporary labor.

     Four Seasons Services was later changed to business names Direct Staffing Services(DSS), Express Staffing Services(ESS) and First Choice Staffing(FCS).

     Ethan Nguyen, Andri Gunawan and Eleni Nguyen were charged in separate criminal Informations. All three pleaded guilty. Eleni Nguyen is scheduled for sentencing on March 19, 2013. Gunawan is scheduled for sentencing on April 4, 2013.

     The joint investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, and United States Department of Health and Human Services. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Todd K. Hinkley.