Nov. 13 , 2006

FINES TOTAL MORE THAN $200,000 FOR WICHITA COMPANY
THAT ADMITTED KNOWINGLY HIRING ILLEGAL ALIENS

WICHITA, KAN – A Wichita company, its owner and a manager who pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring illegal aliens will pay a total of $210,000 in fines.

Sentenced Monday during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Wesley E. Brown were:

– Bob Eisel Powder Coatings Inc., 3500 S. Hoover, Wichita.
– Bob Eisel, Wichita, owner and president of the company.
– Kenric “Butch” Steinert, 60, Wichita, general manager.

Charges against co-defendant Troy Hook, Clearwater, a company foreman, were dismissed as part of deferred prosecution agreement.

Brown assessed the following fines:

– A $175,000 fine for the company.
– A $25,000 fine for Bob Eisel.
– A $10,000 fine for Kenric Steinert.

The defendants also will serve 3 years supervised release.

The defendants each pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement on an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form that fraudulently certified employee Francisco Javier Avila-Garcia had provided genuine documents qualifying him to be employed.

A 28-count indictment filed in August charged that since 1997 the company routinely employed undocumented foreign nationals, primarily from Mexico, knowing they were providing false identification documents to be employed.

“Investigations are underway in other cases that may be similar to this one,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. “Knowingly employing an illegal alien is a federal crime. Employers who violate the law will not avoid prosecution by saying they were unaware of it. Potential penalties include fines and jail time.”

THE PLEA

In their pleas, the defendants admitted:

– In 2002, the company began receiving letters from the Social Security Administration warning that employees were working under Social Security numbers that had not been assigned to them or were being used by more than one person.
– In response, Eisel, Steinert and Hook notified employees of the problem and directed them to obtain different numbers if they wanted to remain employed.
– A Bob Eisel employee named Francisco Javier Avila-Garcia, helped employees whose identities Social Security questioned to obtain false documents. Poncho periodically received $100 cash for each employee, which Stein obtained from the office safe.
– Once the false documents were obtained, the company created paperwork terminating the employees under the old names and then rehired the same employees under new names. The employees filled out new paperwork including employment applications, I-9 Employment Eligibility Verifications, and W-4 Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificates.
– With Eisel’s knowledge, Steinert completed and signed employer certification documents stating “the above listed documents appear to be genuine and related to the employee named...and that to the best of my knowledge the employee is eligible to work in the United States.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Social Security Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson prosecuted.

 

 

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