Treasure Coast Corporation and Corporate Officers Sentenced Federally for Conspiring to Conceal and Harbor Aliens for the Purpose of Commercial Advantage or Private Financial Gain

TentLogix, Inc., a Florida corporation headquartered in Fort Piece, Florida, and corporate officer Gary Hendry, 52, of Jenson Beach, Florida, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg, for their participation in a conspiracy to conceal and harbor aliens for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.

TentLogix, Inc. and its corporate officers Hendry and Dennis Birdsall, 41, of Stuart, Florida, and Kent Hughes, 53, of Jenson Beach, previously pled guilty for their involvement in the conspiracy (Case No. 19-CR-14035).  TentLogix was sentenced to 4 years of probation, to include the implementation of a corporate compliance program.  In addition, TentLogix was ordered to forfeit $3,033,946.46 to the United States.  Hendry was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. He was also ordered to forfeit $282,789 to the United States and pay a $75,000 fine.  Birdsall was previously sentenced to 5 years of probation.  Birdsall was also ordered to forfeit $170,943 to the United States and pay a $15,000 fine.  Hughes was previously sentenced to 3 years of probation.  Hughes was also ordered to forfeit $80,000 to the United States and pay a $7,500 fine.    

According to the court record, from January 2016 to March 2018, TentLogix employed approximately ninety-two aliens knowing those individuals had entered and remained in the United States unlawfully.  During this time frame, a large portion of TentLogix’s workforce in the Southern District of Florida was comprised of aliens who were not authorized to work in the United States. While TentLogix was being investigated by HSI for violations of federal immigration law, Hendry, the chief executive officer of TentLogix, Birdsall, the president of TentLogix, and Hughes devised a scheme to “transfer” the aliens employed by TentLogix to KH Services, LLC, a company owned by Hughes, so that they no longer appeared on TentLogix’s payroll.  Hendry was the architect of the unlawful scheme and recruited Hughes, a childhood friend, to participate.  Hughes formed KH Services, LLC for the sole purpose of concealing, harboring, and shielding the aliens employed by TentLogix from HSI’s investigation.  Hendry directed Birdsall to make a supervisor (“GMC”) at TentLogix aware of the scheme.  At Hendry’s behest, Birdsall directed the supervisor to tell the aliens employed by TentLogix to obtain new identities, including social security numbers, which GMC did, so that they could be “transferred” to KH Services, LLC. 

Birdsall directed wire transfers to be sent from TentLogix’s bank account to KH Services, LLC’s bank account on a bi-weekly basis to cover the payroll expenses for the aliens who worked for TentLogix but were purportedly employed by KH Services, LLC.  Between May 2017 and March 2018, TentLogix transferred over $3,000,000 to KH Services, LLC in 23 separate wire transfers for the express purpose of paying aliens employed by TentLogix who were not authorized to work in the United States. 

“The offenses TentLogix, Gary Hendry, Dennis Birdsall, and Kent Hughes stand convicted of are both serious and dangerous to the administration and enforcement of federal immigration law,” stated U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan. “The United States prosecutes harboring by employment cases to protect our domestic economy and the American worker. Corporations and employees that carry out schemes to conceal and harbor aliens, in order to profit from the use of illegal labor, will continue to be held accountable through criminal sanctions and stiff financial penalties.”

 “Federal law requires employers hire only U.S. citizens and aliens who are authorized to work in the country,” said HSI Miami Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury. “TentLogix harbored and hired manual laborers with little or no regard for their legal status. Today, they paid a substantial price for that conduct. HSI will continue to vigorously enforce immigration law where we find employers engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring and harboring unauthorized individuals in reckless disregard of the law.”

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of HSI in this matter.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Rosen is responsible for the asset forfeiture component of this case. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.