Owner of el jimador mexican restaurant sentenced for harboring an illegal alien

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr.  announced today that J. Guadalupe Hernandez, 29, of Farmington, N.Y., who was convicted of harboring an illegal alien, was sentenced three years probation, a $5,000 fine and a forfeiture of $20,000 by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who handled the case, stated that an investigation by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement discovered illegal aliens working at the defendant's business, El Jimador Mexican Restaurant. During the execution of a search warrant, special agents found three Mexican nationals living in the basement of the restaurant. Hernandez hired the aliens knowing that they were not authorized to work in the United States. The defendant paid the individuals in cash "under the table" and allowed them to live in the basement of the restaurant.

            The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.