Waterloo Man Pleads Guilty To Harboring Illegal Aliens Through Waterloo Restaurant

Yu Jiang, age 30, from Waterloo, Iowa, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to one count of conspiracy to transport, harbor and encourage illegal aliens to reside in the United States.

Jiang admitted that during 2011 and 2012, he and others, doing business as the Hibachi Sushi Buffet restaurant in Waterloo, Iowa, knowingly employed undocumented foreign nationals to work at the restaurant. The workers were provided housing by the restaurant and were transported on a daily basis to and from an apartment rented for the workers by Jiang. The workers were provided meals at the restaurant at no charge and were paid in cash for their services.

Jiang faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years= imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and up to three years of supervised release following any imprisonment. Jiang, a citizen of China, could also be deported following service of any term of incarceration.

A sentencing date will be set after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation report. Jiang was released on bond.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard L. Murphy and was investigated by Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 13-CR-02017.