Nov. 6 , 2006

FINAL TWO DEFENDANTS SENTENCED
IN NATIONAL BEEF DOCUMENT CASE

WICHITA, Kan. – The final two of five men convicted of using false documents to work at the National Beef meat processing plant in Liberal, Kan., have been sentenced to federal prison, United States Attorney Eric Melgren announced Tuesday.
The men, Pastor Trujillo-Trujillo, 23, a Mexican national, and Lorenzo Lucas-Mateo, 26, a citizen of Guatemala, were sentenced here Monday to 13 months in prison, to be followed by mandatory deportation, by Senior U.S. District Judge Wesley E. Brown.

The other three, Pedro Ciprian-Perez, 28, also from Guatemala; and Jorge Dorado-Ayala, 24, and Miguel Banuelos-Chavez, 23, both illegal aliens from Mexico, previously received the same 13-month prison and deportation sentences. All five men, once deported, are banned for life from seeking to return to the United States.

“Foreign nationals who use false documents to work in the United States should expect to go to prison, then will be deported,” Melgren said Tuesday. “We know this situation is widespread, and we will continue to identify and prosecute these cases.”
The five men were indicted June 15 following an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General that started with a citizen tip identifying at least 20 persons using false documents to be employed at the National Beef plant in Liberal. The investigation is ongoing, Melgren said.

 

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