(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)
Eleven defendants, including the chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, and controller of a Joplin, Mo., corporation, have been sentenced in federal court for their role in a racketeering conspiracy to hire, harbor, and transport undocumented workers in several Midwestern states.
“Immigration issues in the country and in this district are not limited to those who illegally enter the United States. Businesses and entities who skirt the law and provide an environment that encourages and assists undocumented individuals to enter and remain in the United States unlawfully will be held accountable. My office is committed to prosecuting both individuals who illegally enter the United States as well as businesses and entities that profit off their labor,” said R. Matthew Price, United States Attorney, Western District of Missouri. “I would like to thank our law enforcement partners at HSI Kansas City for their work on this important matter.”
“The sentencing handed down today sends an unmistakable message. If you build your business on illegal labor and criminal racketeering, you will pay a steep price,” said Mark Zito, HSI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge. “This criminal enterprise was a calculated attack on our laws, our economy, and the most vulnerable among us. HSI Kansas City will not tolerate those who exploit workers and cheat honest business owners for profit. Today’s sentence proves that anyone who thinks they can get away with this kind of lawlessness will be hunted down, prosecuted, and held to the highest account.”
Jose Luis Bravo, 55, of Claremore, Ok.; Jose Guadalupe Razo, 44, of Carl Junction, Mo.; Anthony Edward Doll, 47, and Miguel Tarin-Martinez, 47, both of Joplin, Mo.; Antonio Martinez-Munoz, 48, of Collinsville, Ok.; Rodrigo Manrique Razo, 43, of Great Bend, Ks.; Juan Carlos Palma-Cedeno, 41, a citizen of Mexico; Jose Luis Lopez-Valadez, 45, of West Plains, Mo.; Jaime Ramirez-Ceja, 47, a citizen of Mexico; Jose Luis Rodriguez-Valerio, 61, of Tulsa, Ok.; and Veronica Razo de Lara, 51, of Great Bend, Ks., have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark.
Each defendant previously admitted to taking part in a RICO (racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations) conspiracy from Jan. 2018, to Aug. 2021, that transported and employed Mexican, Guatemalan, and El Salvadoran nationals who were not authorized to live or work in the United States. Conspirators also harbored and encouraged the unauthorized workers to remain and reside in the United States by providing them with housing and, in certain circumstances, fraudulent identification documentation.
Specialty Foods Distribution (SFD) is a Missouri corporation, based in Joplin, specializing in wholesale Mexican food products and restaurant supply products. During the racketeering conspiracy, SFD’s executive staff included Jose Bravo as chief executive officer; Jose Razo as president; Anthony Doll as chief financial officer; Miguel Tarin-Martinez as controller.
Bravo, J. Razo, Doll, and Tarin-Martinez created, maintained, and/or otherwise oversaw a network of enterprise-affiliated restaurants in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma that were serviced by SFD. The enterprise-affiliated restaurants were managed and/or staffed by coconspirators, including defendants Martinez-Munoz, R. Razo, Palma-Cedeno, Lopez-Valadez, Ramirez-Ceja, Rodriguez-Valerio, and Razo de Lara. Together, the defendants conspired to staff the restaurants with unauthorized workers—a workforce not available to law-abiding business owners—thereby gaining an unfair and illegal competitive business advantage.
As part of the conspiracy, the defendants utilized evasive and fraudulent tactics. Specifically, to keep the enterprise-affiliated restaurants staffed and profitable, the defendants kept certain unauthorized workers off official payroll records; required certain unauthorized workers to work at times when federal officials were unlikely to conduct inspections; failed to collect or maintain complete and accurate Form I-9 documentation; falsely attested to the accuracy of Form I-9 documentation; submitted inaccurate wage and hour reports to state officials; and facilitated fraudulent identification documentation being produced, transported, and provided to unauthorized workers.
To date, the Court has imposed an aggregate 164 months of imprisonment and ordered forfeiture in an amount over $6,400,000.00. As to each defendant, the Court imposed the below-listed sentences.Bravo, who was the leader and organizer of the racketeering conspiracy, was sentenced to a 36-month term of imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release, and was ordered to pay or otherwise provide approximately $5,764.537.47 representing the proceeds he obtained from the racketeering enterprise, property he acquired or maintained as part of the racketeering enterprise, and/or property that afforded a source of influence over the racketeering enterprise. Specifically, the forfeiture amount includes funds from five bank accounts; payment for his share of 12 real properties, including one personal residence and 11 commercial buildings; and payment for his share of over 20 business entities, including a portion of SFD.
J. Razo, who was a supervisor and manager of the racketeering conspiracy, was sentenced to a 30-month term of imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release, and was ordered to pay or otherwise provide $130,700.04 representing the proceeds he obtained from the racketeering enterprise.
Doll, who was a supervisor and manager of the racketeering conspiracy, was sentenced to a 10-month term of home detention as a condition of probation and was ordered to pay or otherwise provide $132,303.09 representing the proceeds he obtained from the racketeering enterprise.
Tarin-Martinez was sentenced to a 24-month term of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release, and was ordered to pay or otherwise provide $23,094.97 representing the proceeds he obtained from the racketeering enterprise.
Martinez-Munoz, who worked as a manager at Bravo’s Mexican Grill in Overland Park, Ks., was sentenced to a 15-month term of imprisonment and a three-year term of supervised release.
R. Razo, who served as the manager of Playa Azul Mexican Restaurant in Great Bend, Ks., was sentenced to a 13-month term of imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release, and was ordered to pay or otherwise provide $81,933.28 representing the proceeds he obtained from the racketeering enterprise.
Palma-Cedeno, who worked as an employee at El Banquete Mexican Restaurant in Claremore, Ok., was sentenced to a 10-month term of imprisonment and a three-year term of supervised release.
Lopez-Valadez, who served as the manager of two El Charro Mexican Restaurant locations in West Plains, Mo., was sentenced to an eight-month term of home detention as a condition of probation and was ordered to pay or otherwise provide $345,791.86 representing the proceeds he obtained from the racketeering enterprise.
Ramirez-Ceja, who served as the manager of El Charro Mexican Restaurant in Lebanon, Mo., was sentenced to an 11-month term of imprisonment and a one-year term of supervised release.
Rodriguez-Valerio, who served as a manager at Bravo’s Mexican Grill in Overland Park, Ks., was sentenced to a 13-month term of imprisonment and a three-year term of supervised release.
Razo de Lara, who served as the manager of Maria’s Mexican Grill, in Great Bend, Ks., was sentenced to a 12-month-and-one-day term of imprisonment and a three-year term of supervised release.
Defendants Eusebio Ramirez-Ceja, 55; Alejandro Castillo-Ramirez, 44; and Lorenzo Castro-Manzanarez, 43, all three citizens of Mexico, have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rudolph R. Rhodes IV, Nicholas Heberle, David Wagner, and Leigh Farmakidis. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service; Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations; Kansas Bureau of Investigation; Kansas Department of Labor; Kansas Department of Revenue; Kansas Highway Patrol; Missouri State Highway Patrol; and Butler, Mo., Police Department.
