Forging coin? Immigrant scam exploits workers
Arizona Coin Collector
On the story below.
This guy was charge with two counts of
forging coin and bank notes. I would find
the "forging coin" part hard to believe.
I am willing to bet these people must have
stayed in a "safe house" near Phoenix. A
number of "safe houses" has been busted.
I see it in the local news all the time.
Human smugglers are referred to as "coyotes"
here in Arizona. They make a lot of money
moving Immigrants to other parts of the
United States.
-------------------------------------
FROM:
http://www.vagazette.com/news/local/va-news1_121308dec13,0,2393591.story
Immigrant scam exploits workers
By Amanda Kerr
The Virginia Gazette
December 13, 2008
WILLIAMSBURG - Police have arrested a Mexican
immigrant accused of using his job to take
advantage of other immigrants.
Alejandro "Aless" Quintero has been charged
with threats to report illegal immigrants,
forgery of public records, money laundering,
identity fraud, grand larceny, obtaining money
by false pretenses, and two counts of forging
coin and bank notes.
The case exposes the local underworld of
exploiting illegal immigrants.
A series of search warrants, the latest of
which was filed last week, reveals that Quintero
worked for Hospitality Staffing Solutions on
Parkway Drive, where he was involved in hiring
employees to fill various positions.
Williamsburg Police began investigating Quintero
after a worker at Hospitality Staffing filed
complaints against him.
According to a search warrant, Alberto Gomez
Salazar asserted that Quintero hired him to
work as a housekeeper for Hospitality
Staffing. He worked with the company for less
than a month between September and October.
"Gomez Salazar reported that Quintero was
aware that Gomez Salazar was not legally in
the U.S., and offered to sell him forged
government identification documents for
$150, with which to forge an employment
application," the warrant read.
The forged documents went through, and Gomez
Salazar was hired by Hospitality Staffing to
work at the Williamsburg Inn. When Gomez
Salazar was not paid for his work from
Sept. 25 through Oct. 18, he went to
Quintero to ask about the money.
"Quintero refused to pay, telling Gomez
Salazar not to cause trouble due to his
illegal status in the U.S.," the warrant
read.
An investigation of employment records at
Hospitality Staffing Solutions revealed that
Gomez Salazar, along with at least four
other people who had been hired by Quintero,
had not been paid for their work. The
warrant stated that none of the people were
in the country legally.
News reports depict Quintero as a trusted
figure among the local Latino community. A
November 2006 report in the Daily Press says
Quintero, who is from Mazatlan, served as a
translator and a teacher of English as a
second language. In 2006 he spoke at a forum
at the College of William & Mary about the
area's growing Latino population.
..