ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that J. Guadalupe Hernandez, 29, of Farmington, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman, to harboring illegal aliens. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of 250,000 or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who handled the case, stated that Hernandez harbored three men at the El Jimador Mexican Restaurant, a business he owns in Farmington, knowing or recklessly disregarding the fact that they were unlawfully present in the United States. The men were found when agents with Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at the restaurant in March 2011 and discovered them living in the restaurant's basement. The men admitted that they worked at the restaurant and were paid in cash by Hernandez.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.
Sentencing will be scheduled before U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
