BEAUMONT – Two Brownwood residents, 39-year-old Yan Mao and 40-year-old Yip Keung Leung both  of Brownwood, were among 32 suspects arrested on federal indictments.  The following news release was issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

A task force of federal, state, and local law enforcement have begun arresting 32 defendants charged with RICO and immigration violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales and Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Houston today.

According to court documents, two employment referral businesses operating out of Houston recruited unauthorized aliens, mostly from Mexico and Central America, for work in the Chinese restaurant industry.  These workers routinely worked  12 hours a day, six days a week, they were not paid overtime, not permitted to receive tips or gratuities, and were paid in cash by the restaurants.  The restaurants profited by avoiding payment of employment taxes and did not provide any benefits such as health insurance, vacation or sick time.  Workers were paid far less than minimum wage, did not receive health examinations, food safety training, or any job training at any time while employed.

Additionally, these workers were subject to unfavorable living arrangements provided by the restaurant operators, either at the operator’s residence or at another off-site residential location. Living arrangements were overcrowded and sometimes consisted of air mattresses or floors for sleeping.  For instance, 18 people were found to be housed in a 2000 square foot house.

 

Arrests of the indicted individuals began on Jan. 30, 2014.  The following individuals have been charged:

• Lina Sun, 54, of Houston;
• Chenglun Ma, 57, of Houston;
• Chang Jin Song, 56, of Houston;
• Zhiqiang Li, 59, of Houston;
• Chenzong Yu, 44, of Houston;
• Jin Zhu Wang, 50, of Port Arthur, Texas;
• Li Qiu Jiang, 52, of Port Arthur, Texas;
• Hua Zhu Dong, 45, of Port Arthur, Texas;
• Wei Ji Zheng, 38, of San Marcos, Texas;
• Wen Juan Zhang, 34, of San Marcos, Texas;
• Chanjuan Xie, 31, of Sanger, Texas;
• Xue Fang He, 28, of Sanger, Texas;
• Zhen Yin Weng, 55, of Little Rock, AR;
• Dan Hui Lu, 32, of Dallas;
• Zeng Yu Huang, 50, of Mineola, Texas;
• Jian Tuan Dong, 47, of Rockwall, Texas;
• Jian Jun Ma, 60, of Houston;
• Liang Gao, 42, of Houston;
• Shoufang Jiang, 43, of Houston;
• Jiang Ping Zhang, 65, of Houston;
• Wen Jian Wen, 26, of Houston;
• Xiaofeng Zhu, 43, of Sugar Land, Texas;
• Xianghong Sun, 54, of Missouri City, Texas;
• Yan Mao, 39, of Brownwood, Texas;
• Yip Keung Leung, 40, of Brownwood, Texas;
• Selena Ling Feng, 37, of Nacogdoches, Texas;
• Zongxian Zhu, 41, of Nacogdoches, Texas;
• Jing Heng Jiang, 51, of Bastrop, LA;
• Hua Lin, 30, of Allen, LA;
• Houng Chen, 39, of Abbeville, LA; and
• Jin Zhu Fang, 38, of Abbeville, LA.

Federal indictments were returned on Nov. 7, 2013, charging 32 individuals with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to transport, harbor, and encourage and induce aliens to reside in the United States.  If convicted, defendants face up to 20 years for the RICO charge and up to 10 years for the immigration conspiracy charge.

“The Hong Li Job Agency and the Tai Shan Employment Agency operated a ‘take-out and delivery service’ for restaurants across the region- but they didn’t deliver food.  Instead, they delivered people illegally present in the United States to greedy restaurant owners and managers looking for cheap labor,” said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Houston.  “The illicit efforts of the defendants and others like them help push those unlawfully here deeper into the shadows, and the jobs they market serve as a magnet for future illegal immigration.”

This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) offices in: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and New Orleans; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine; U.S. Marshals; Police Department’s in Houston, Port Author and Beaumont.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Beaumont.

It is important to note that a grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt.