Meat Processing Plant Used Stolen Identities for Illegal Workers
Fresh Mark has entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department after one of its managers participated in an illegal identity theft scam.
Fresh Mark, Inc., was founded in 1920 and has become a nationwide processor of processed meats under several brand names, including Superior Brand Meats and Sugardale, according to the DOJ press release.
The company primarily produces hotdogs, bacon, sausage, and deli meats and is headquartered and operates in Ohio with facilities in Massillon, Canton and Salem, Ohio. Fresh Mark had its own Human Resources Department that was in charge of hiring staff for the company.
Filled Out Employment Paperwork to Prove Eligibility to Work in the U.S.
Each applicant who wanted to work for Fresh Mark filled out an application and other government-issued forms, including an I-9 form, providing their address, social security number, and date of birth to prove their eligibility to work in the U.S., according to the indictment. Along with the paperwork, the employment hopefuls had to provide two forms of ID: a driver’s license, a state identification card, or a social security card.
Munoz-Solis was the manager of the HR department at Fresh Mark’s Salem location, according to the indictment. Several co-conspirators who were not authorized to work in the U.S. were E-Verified in the system and approved for employment.
Between 2013 and 2018, HSI conducted an investigation and found several Fresh Mark employees using stolen identities to become employed with the company, according to the DOJ press release. Munoz Solis’ co-conspirators obtained the identities of American citizens, including social security cards, birthdays, addresses and driver’s licenses, and used them to apply for jobs at Fresh Mark.
Starting as far back as Feb. 21, 2011, Munoz-Solis interviewed the employees, helped them fill out the I-9 form, and certified that the information on the form was correct despite knowing it was fraudulent, according to the indictment. Numerous American Citizens’ identities were used to successfully apply for jobs at Fresh Mark between 2011 and 2017.
On June 19, 2018, HSI went to the processing facilities at Fresh Mark’s Massillon, Canton and Salem locations with a search warrant, according to the DOJ press release. They detained 146 people working and living in the United States without having legal status.
Federal Charges
Out of those 146 people, 30 of the workers were charged with varying degrees of federal immigration violations, according to the DOJ press release. Fresh Mark has been ordered to pay a fine of $3,719,997 and will have to complete compliance reporting requirements for two years. The money Fresh Mark is ordered to pay will be given to the federal Crime Victims Fund.
Munoz-Solis pleaded guilty to three of the seventeen counts in the indictment and was issued time served for two of the counts and one year of probation for the third count, according to the judgment documents.
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