Federal agents executed search warrants at 14 Zipps restaurants in the Phoenix area on January 26, following a year-long investigation into illegal employment practices, identity theft, and document fraud. The operation involved Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Diego Gonzalez-Rosales, 36, a Mexican national residing illegally in the United States, has been charged with multiple offenses including knowingly employing unauthorized aliens, making false attestations on Form I-9, transferring identification without authority, and aggravated identity theft. According to authorities, Gonzalez-Rosales was responsible for hiring kitchen staff across all Zipps locations in Arizona and is alleged to have recruited and hired undocumented workers using fraudulent documents to verify their eligibility through the E-Verify system.
Three employees—Edwin Flores Rosales, 28; Salvador Villenueva-Rosas, 48; and Ludwin Benjamin Perez Velasco, 22—were also charged for lying on Form I-9 by claiming U.S. citizenship and using false identification and social security numbers.
During the operation, 39 individuals who were unlawfully present in the United States and working at Zipps were taken into custody.
According to court documents, HSI served notices of inspection to all Zipps locations and corporate headquarters in March 2025 after receiving reports that employees might be using fraudulent identification for work eligibility verification. A review of company records indicated misuse of names, social security numbers, and dates of birth on Forms I-9.
Investigators identified suspicious wage patterns among 76 employees who appeared to have multiple employers during the second quarter of 2025. These individuals self-certified as U.S. citizens on their Forms I-9 and did not list Alien Registration Numbers. Authorities noted instances of multiple jobs held simultaneously with unusually high wages within one quarter—a pattern consistent with aggravated identity theft.
The criminal complaints allege that Gonzalez-Rosales knowingly employed undocumented workers and helped them falsify information on employment forms by claiming they were U.S. citizens or by using others’ identities.
Authorities emphasized: "A criminal complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."
HSI Arizona continues its investigation based on materials seized during the search operation with assistance from IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is prosecuting the case.
For more details about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az /
