Sunday, March 18, 2001
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Sunday, March 18, 2001 |
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Local China Cafe restaurants closed after federal sting on illegal immigrant employees By JOHN MUNFORD
Two local Chinese restaurants have been closed after federal authorities executed search warrants earlier this week in an investigation into the smuggling and harboring of illegal immigrants to use as restaurant employees. The China Cafe, which has locations in Peachtree City and Fayetteville, has reportedly employed the illegal immigrants, who sometimes worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, according to an affidavit filed by an agent of the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service. An intensive undercover operation which included one agent posing as a restaurant owner needing employees revealed that several "employment agencies" in the Chamblee area helped route illegal immigrants to restaurants across the Southeast, according to the affidavit. Two people have been arrested and indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of smuggling illegal immigrants Chuan Li "Jenny" Wu, 49, and Zr Chao "Jimmy" Zhu, 38, both of Jonesboro. The indictment claims they harbored illegal aliens and encouraged them to stay in the country to work at restaurants. A total of 105 people have been detained by the INS relating to this investigation, according to INS documents. "The INS and our office are working together to take federal prosecutions beyond the smuggled illegal aliens and into the system that brings them into this country and exploits them," said U.S. Attorney Richard H. Deane Jr. "We will continue to aggressively prosecute smugglers who are responsible for these actions in the Northern District in Georgia." According to the affidavit, the INS found that the employment agencies will charge a "finder's fee" to prospective employees and then send them to various restaurants in several states via Greyhound bus. One illegal immigrant had paid $1,200 to be smuggled into the United States, where he entered in Houston, Tex. and took a Greyhound bus to Atlanta to visit one of the employment agencies, the affidavit stated. The agencies did not ask for documentation to establish the employee's identity and employment eligibility, according to the affidavit. Federal agents have frozen several bank accounts and conducted 24 search warrants related to this case. Seven vehicles and four residences also have been seized by federal authorities. The investigation originated from a case in 1997 when a Mexican citizen was arrested in Mobile, Ala. by the U.S. Border Patrol and had a referral slip and a business card issued by two different employment agencies in the Chamblee area. A criminal complaint has also been filed in U.S. District Court against Shih Kai "Frank" Feng and Mei Lin "Cindy" Feng for inducing illegal aliens to live in the United States. The case is being investigated by INS agents, along with federal agents from the FBI and the Social Security Administration. Assistant U.S. attorneys Charysse L. Alexander and Randy Chartash are prosecuting the case.
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