House of Raeford-owned company is accused of deliberately hiring undocumented workers
By Franco Ordoñez
The Charlotte Observer
July 17, 2009
A federal grand jury this week charged that a company owned by N.C.-based House of Raeford Farms knowingly hired illegal immigrants at a plant in South Carolina.
The government's 50-count indictment against Columbia Farms charges that it hired undocumented workers from 2000 until October 2008, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the Greenville, S.C., plant.
The latest indictment illustrates how federal prosecutors have moved up the corporate ladder, charging workers, managers and now the company.
“These were not acts that occurred outside of the knowledge of the corporation,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald of Columbia.
House of Raeford, a family-run business, is one of the nation's top chicken and turkey producers, with operations in the Carolinas and Louisiana, nearly $600 million in annual sales, and 6,000 employees.
“For nearly a year Columbia Farms, Inc. has cooperated and will continue to cooperate with the federal government in every step of their investigation,” House of Raeford said in a statement. “Columbia Farms contends that it has followed all state and federal employment laws and looks forward to vindicating the company's position in a court of law.”
Marvin Johnson, 82, who launched the private company, is the chairman. His son, Bob, is the chief executive officer. They live in Eastern North Carolina.
In a February 2008 series on workplace safety in the poultry industry, the Observer reported that some House of Raeford managers knowingly employed illegal immigrants. Current and former supervisors said the plants preferred undocumented workers because those workers feared losing their jobs or being deported.
Investigation could widen
The yearlong investigation has already resulted in charges against Greenville plant manager Barry Cronic, human resources manager Elaine Crump and about a dozen supervisors.
In October, federal authorities raided the plant, detaining more than 300 workers. Most have been deported.
Peter Anderson, a Charlotte attorney and former federal prosecutor, said indicting the company now could mean the case is nearing its completion. But he said investigators may also continue to press others indicted for additional information on what their bosses knew. “Sometimes a bad actor in the immigration context might think the investigation is over,” said Anderson, who is a candidate for U.S. attorney in western North Carolina. “And then all of a sudden the debriefing of the cooperating executives reveals a whole other slew of additional types of violations – fraud, kickbacks, bribery, environmental, OSHA.”
Lisa Griffin, a law professor at Duke University, said indicting a company is generally a sign the government has found widespread problems.
If found guilty, the company could face stiff fines, mandatory audits and a loss of licenses and government contracts.
Crump, Cronic and the company itself are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Greenville this month. A trial for Crump and Cronic was previously set for November.
Since the initial arrests, dozens of workers have left their jobs. The company has been hiring fewer Latinos and has turned to state prisons to fill production lines.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/838052.html