Sierra Vista business manager charged in federal immigration probe
Friday, March 14, 2008 - 2:52 PM MST
Robert Rubio, 25, of Sierra Vista was arrested by federal agents and charged Friday for knowingly hiring and intentionally harboring or concealing illegal immigrants.
The complaint alleges that Rubio, the manager of a company in Sierra Vista, tipped off an immigrant that agents were inspecting the company. According to the complaint, a Form I-9 inspection was conducted at the company June 21, 2007. Rubio allegedly contacted an immigrant who worked for the company while that inspection was being conducted, with the intent to tip off the worker. Rubio allegedly advised the immigrant to "get out of town."
Form I-9s are required to be maintained on each employee by a company for specified periods.
The complaint further alleges that one illegal immigrant was found in a publicly inaccessible location, labeled "employees only," on or about June 18, 2007. That individual was working for Rubio, but the company did not have a corresponding Form I-9 on file.
As a result of their inspection, agents determined that 10 individuals working for the company were using fraudulent Permanent Resident Alien cards.
The investigation in this case was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol agents.
A conviction for knowingly hiring illegal aliens, a Class B misdemeanor under federal law, carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $3,000 fine for each unauthorized worker, plus other possible fines. A conviction for harboring or concealing illegal immigrants carries a maximum penalty of five years and/or a $250,000 fine.
The prosecution is being handled by Munish Sharda, assistant U.S. attorney in Tucson.
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