The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK, Virginia -- The owners of a Newport News commercial fishing company have been charged with employing more than 100 illegal immigrants over the past four years.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a court filing Thursday that it is seeking nearly $7 million in penalties from the Peabody Corp., which operates eight trawlers used mostly for scalloping.
According to federal charges, company president William F. Peabody and vice president Yvonne M. Peabody knowingly employed 126 undocumented workers and disregarded warnings about the illegal activity from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Internal Revenue Service.
Company employees "counseled" the illegal workers on how to obtain fake employment papers that looked real, according to the charging documents.
Posted by tyne at November 17, 2007