CHICAGO — A former government vice chairman of a Chicago staffing firm was sentenced Monday in federal court docket for helping an space sheet metallic firm with the hiring of undocumented staff.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Safety Investigations (HSI), with the help of the U.S. Division of Labor and the U.S. Social Safety Administration.
Sergio Badani, 51, of St. Charles, Illinois, was sentenced by U.S. District Decide Sara L. Ellis sentenced to 2 years’ probation on one depend of conspiracy to commit harboring for functions of economic benefit. Decide Ellis additionally fined Badani $15,000. He had beforehand pleaded responsible to the cost final yr.
“When companies knowingly rent an unlawful workforce, it threatens the integrity of our nation’s immigration system, financial well being and places the safety of our homeland in danger,” stated appearing Particular Agent in Cost R. Sean Fitzgerald of HSI Chicago. “HSI is dedicated to defending our communities from the abuses of corrupt enterprise house owners in search of to realize an unlawful benefit and make a steep revenue off the backs of others.”
Court docket information and proof at trial present Badani used his function as vice chairman of operations for a big staffing firm to knowingly conceal the true identities of 17 noncitizen staff from the U.S. authorities. These staff had beforehand been recognized by HSI as noncitizens throughout a civil employment audit of KSO MetalFab Inc., a sheet metallic fabrication firm in Streamwood, Illinois. After the enterprise house owners assured the federal government the recognized noncitizens had been terminated, they then labored with Badani to rent those self same staff again utilizing false identification paperwork. Badani admitted that he discovered of the unlawful scheme and assisted in concealing the data from the federal government whereas his staffing firm continued to gather greater than $1 million in charges from the manufacturing unit house owners. Badani additionally admitted that he acquired a portion of the revenue from this contract within the type of financial bonuses.
The sentence was introduced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Lawyer for the Northern District of Illinois.
“Undocumented staff are at a major drawback within the office, making them more likely to be exploited by employers,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher V. Parente and Ashley A. Chung argued within the authorities’s sentencing memorandum.
4 staff of KSO MetalFab Inc., had been beforehand charged in federal court docket with knowingly hiring and harboring undocumented staff. They pleaded not responsible and are awaiting trial.