PHOENIX — The owners of a small chain of restaurants in northern Arizona, along with two undocumented immigrants, have been arrested and are facing federal charges for allegedly employing undocumented workers after a three-year-long labor exploitation investigation.
Robert and Brenda Clouston, who own four Colt Grill locations in Arizona and one in Alabama, were arrested on Tuesday, along with two men from Mexico who were living in the U.S. illegally, Luis Pedro Rogel-Jaimes and Iris Romero-Molina.
They are all facing charges for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to unlawfully enter the United States and pattern and practice of knowingly employing unauthorized aliens, according to a federal indictment issued May 27.
According to the indictment, in September 2022, the Cloustons, Rogel-Jaimes and Romero-Molina came up with a plan for Romero-Molina to create a cleaning company, called R&R AZ Cleaning.
Rogel-Jaimes and Romero-Molina would then allegedly find undocumented workers to work at the Colt Grill restaurants. Those workers would then get paid through R&R with money earned at the restaurants.
The workers were paid below minimum wage and not compensated for overtime, according to a press release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE also said the Cloustons, Romero-Molina and Rogel-Jaimes also allegedly benefited financially from the scheme and did not pay the proper employment taxes for the undocumented workers.
A search warrant was served at all five Colt Grill locations and 12 homes in two states on Tuesday. The Cloustons, Rogel-Jaimes and Romero-Molina were all arrested without incident, along with several of the undocumented workers.
“This multiyear case involving several federal charges is a testament of our commitment to combatting crime that has a true impact to communities,” ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede said in the release.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office assisted HSI with the serving of the search warrants.
“Coordinated, multiagency enforcement actions like this one are essential to protecting our communities from the destabilizing impacts of organized crime,” Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes said. “By working together, we will continue to leverage every available resource to safeguard the people of Yavapai County from those who seek to do harm.”
How much time could Colt Grill restaurant owners spend in prison if convicted?
Each of the four conspiracy charges carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison as well as a fine of up to $250,000.
Meanwhile, the charge of pattern and practice of knowingly employing unauthorized aliens has a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a fine of up to $3,000 per undocumented worker.
This investigation was part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative that aims to thwart illegal immigration.
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