View
379
Download
0
Category
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
Plea agreement reached by United States Attorney's Office & HW Group
Citation preview
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 1/11
Criminal-
No:
PLEA AGRE•\ NT
HW GROUP•Œ
LLC.
Genera].
Provisions
Thls PLEA AGREEMENT ls made thls
day of%/1
•Œ
2076,
between
the United States of
America,
ds
represented
by
United
States
Attorney
WILLIAM N.
NETTLES,
Assistant
United
States Attorney
Jim
May;
the Defendant,
El{
GROUP,
LLC., and
Defendant's
attorney,
Debbie
Barbier.
IN
CONSIDERATION
of the mutual
promises
made
herein, the
parties
agree
as
fol-l-ows:
1. The
Defendant
agrees
to waj-ve Indictment
and
arraignment,
and
plead
guilty
to an
fnformation
charging,
unlawful
employment
of al-iens, in viol-ation
of
Title
I
,
United
States
Code,
S
7324a(a)
(1)
(A)
and
Title
18
United
States
Code,
S
2.
In order to sustain its
burden
of proof, the
Government
is
required
to
prove
the
followj-ng:
3:16-po-2
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 1 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 2/11
Count
1
a.
the defendant
as
an owner
of
agricultural
land;
b.
hired
for
employment
aliens
or
caused to
be hired
for
employment
aliens;
c.
without
complying
with Title
29,
United
States Code,
Section
1802.
The
penalty for this
offense
is:
a fine of not more than $3,000 per unauthorized alien and
or
imprisonment
of
not
more
than
six months,
plus
a special
assessment
of
$10.
In
order
to sustain
its
burden of
proof
as to a viol-ation
of
1B U.S.C.
S
2, the
Government
is requi-red to
prove
the
following
beyond
a
reasonabl-e
doubt:
a.
The
Defendant
associated
with the criminal
conduct;
b.
The
Defendant
knowingly
participated
in
the
criminal
conduct; and
c.
The Defendant
sought
by
its
actions
to make
the
criminaf
conduct
succeed.
2. The
Defendant
understands and
agrees that
monetary
penalties Ii. e.,
speciaJ_
assessments, fines and
other
payments
required
under the
sentencel
imposed
by the
court
are due immediately.
‚Â ‚S
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 2 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 3/11
Special
Assessment:
Pursuant
to
1B
U.S.C.
53013,
the
Defendant
must
pay
a
speciaJ_
assessment
of
$10
for
each misdemeanor
count
for
which
they
are
convicted.
This special
assessment
must
be
paid
at or before
the
time
of
the
guilty
plea
hearing.
Fines:
The
Defendant
understands
that
the
Court
will impose
a fine
pursuant
to
18
U.S.C.
SS
3571
and 3572.
The Defendant
understands
that the obligations
the
Government within
the Plea
Agreement
are
expressly
contingent
upon the Defendant
and
its
related
entities
abiding by
federal-
and state Iaws
and
complying
with
any
bond
executed in
this case.
A
"rel_ated
entity,,
is
def
ined
as
any entity
to
which
the Defendant
l-eases
its
land
and/or
is
engaged
with in the agricultural business during
the
probationary
period.
rn
the event
that
the
Defendant
or
its
related
entities
fail
to comply with
any
of this
Agreement,
either
express
of
the
provisions
or
implied,
the
Government
will
have
the right,
dt
its
sore
erection,
to
void
all of
its
obligations
under
this
Agreement
and
the
Defendant
will not have any right to withdraw its plea of
guilty
to
the
offense
(s)
enumerated
herein.
Merger
and
Ottrer
provisions
A
B.
3. Of
-3-
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 3 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 4/11
The
parties
have
entered into
this
Prea
Agreement
under
Fed.R.Crim.P.
11(c)
(1)
(C)
with
the
understanding
that
the
Court will
accept or reject
the
agreement
but may
not
modify
its
terms. If
the District
Court
modifies
any
portj-on
of the PIea
Agreement,
the
Defendant
has
the
right
to withdraw
the
guilty
plea.
The
United
States
and
the
Defendant
stipulate and agree
that
the following
is
an
appropriate
sentence:
(a)
the Defendant
corporation
caused
to be employed
between
300 and 350 al_iens without valid
documentatj-on;
(b)
the appropriate
penalty
in
this
case
is
a fine
of
$1,000,000
and
this
penalty
represents
the
total
amount
to be
paid
by the Defendant pursuant
to the
guilty
plea
and that
no
other fine,
including
any
administrative
fine
or restitution
or
forfeiture,
shall
be applicable
in
thls case. If the court, after reviewing this
plea
agreement,
and before
accepting
it,
concludes
that
any
provision
is
inapproprj-ate,
it
may
reject
the
plea
agreement, giving
the defendant,
in
accordance
with
Fed.R-crim.P.
11(c)(5),
an opportunity
to
withdraw
the
guilty
prea.
The
parties
stipurate
that
on
May
6, 2ol3
a
rerated entity of the
Defendant
received Form
r-g
enforcement
subpoenas
and
was
audited
by
the
Department
of
Homerand
security
("DHS-)
The
usAo
and
DHS
agree
that
the
$
1,
000,
000
.
00
f ine
agreed
to
in
this
cri-mina1
case
wirt
-4-
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 4 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 5/11
fully
resolve
any
and
all
administrative
Iiability of the
Defendant
and/or any of its related entities
resuJ-ting
from
the
DHS
audit
commenced
on or
about May 6,
2013.
5.
The
Parties
agree
that
the
Defendant will
be
placed
on
organizational
probation for
a
from
the
date
of
sentencing.
period
of
four
(4)
years
The following
terms
of
probation are
special
terms
of
probation
to
which the
Defendant
agrees
to
be subject
in addition
to al-l-
standard
terms
of
probation:
a.
The
Defendant
agrees
that
it
sha1l
not commit any
further
criminal
viol-ations
and will comply
fully with
any
future
Eorm
I-9
inspections
ai-med
at
verifying
that
the
Defendant
is no
longer
employing
illegaI
al-iens.
b.
Defendant
shall
notify
j-ts
related
entities and its
officers,
Human
Resources employees, and any managers
invol-ved
in the hiring
and/or termination
of
employees
of its criminal-
behavior and remedial
actions, by
providing to
them
copies of the Exhlbit A.
Statement
of Eacts, and Exhibit
B.
Compliance
and Monitoring
Program
("CMP")
Eor
a
period
of 48
months,
defendant
and its
rel-ated
entities
shall
also
post,
in
areas
frequented
by and visible
to its
employees,
copies
of
the Employee
Disclosure
Statement,
Exhibit
C.
-5-
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 5 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 6/11
Defendant and its
related entities
shall
implement
and
continuously
maintain,
for
the 4B-month
probationary
period,
the
CMP. Every six months
during
the term
of
defendant's
probation,
defendant
shaII
provide
to
the
USAO,
the
Department
of Homeland
Security,
and
the
Probatj-on Officer
reports in which
it
describes
the
defendant's
progress
in implementing
the CMP
set forth
in Exhibit
B. The Defendant
and its
related
entities
agrees to
provide
training
to its managers
and
employees
with hiring authority
about
complying
with
United States
immigration l-aws.
Training
shaII
be
accomplished
within
90
days
of sentencing.
The
Defendant shall notify
the
probation
officer
within
seventy-two
hours of
any
criminaf
prosecution
against it or
knowledge
by an
executi-ve
officer of
any
referral for
potential
criminal
prosecution
to
the
United States
Department of
Justice
from immigration
authoritles.
The Def
endant
shall- designate
an
of f ic
j-al
of
the
organization
to act as
the
organization,
s
representative
and
to be the primary contact with
the
United States
Probation Office.
The Defendant and
its
related
entities
shall-
provide
written notice to
the
government
and
the U.
S.
d.
-6-
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 6 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 7/11
Probation
Office ten
days
prior
to
(i)
any
change
of
its corporate
name,
or
(if)
any change
in
the
principal
business
location
or mailing
address.
No
change
in
name,
business
reorganization,
bankruptcy,
change
in ownership,
or control
of
the Defendant,
merger, change
in legal status,
purchase
of assets,
or
simil-ar action
shalI
alter
or dimi-nish
the
Def
endant
or its rel-ated
enti-ties'oblj-gations
under this
plea
agreement.
The Defendant
further agrees that it will
not engage
in any business reorganization,
transfer
of
ownership,
corporate dissolution,
or other
business
practi-ce,
incJ-uding
the
sal-e
or
transfer
of assets,
in
order
to avoid the obligations set forth
in
this
plea
agreement.
6.
The parties agree that the Defendant and its
rel-ated
entities
have
a
grace period
of eighteen
months
(18)
from
the date of sentencing to
become fully
compliant
with
all-
f
ederal immigration
.l-aws, DHS
agrees
to
provide
the
Defendant
a list
of
employees
determined
to
have
suspect
documents
as
a resul-t
of the Form
r-9
audit.
DHS
agrees
to
return the Eorms r-9 and rerated paperwork that
was
previously
provided
to DHS
via
the
r-9
audit
commenced
on
or
about
May
6,
2013.
-7-
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 7 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 8/11
Defendant
and
its
related
entities
are
• ¡
compliance
with
this
agreement,
the
United
States
agrees
that this agreement
will not
impact
the ability
of
Defendant and its related
entities
to
sponsor foreign
national-s for nonimmigrant visas,
including,
but
not
Iimited to, H-1B, H-28, and H-2A visas.
The
United
States
agrees that they will
agencies
for
debarment
or
the investigated
conduct.
B.
The
Defendant
represents
wj-th their
attorneys
on
not make
any
referrals
to any
suspension
proceedings
related
to
to the court
that
they
have
met
a sufficient
number
of
occasions
and for a sufficient
period
of
time
to
discuss
the
Defendant's
case and receive advice;
that
the Defendant
has
been truthful with
their attorneys
and
related
all
information of which the
Defendant
is
aware
pertaining
to
the case;
that
the
Defendant
and
their
attorneys
have
discussed
possible
defenses, Lf
dDy,
to
the
charges
in
the
rnformation
including
the
existence
of
any
excurpatory
or
favorable
evldence
or witnesses,
discussed
the
Defendant,
s
right
to
a
public
trial-
by
jury
or
by
the
court,
the
right
to the assistance of
counsel-
throughout the
proceedings,
the
right
to
call
witnesses
j-n
the
Defendant,
s
behalf
and
comper
thelr
attendance
at
trial-
by
subpoena,
the
right
to
confront
and
cross-examine
the
government,
s witnesses,
the
-8-
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 8 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 9/11
Defendant's
right to testify
in their
own
behalf, or
to
remain
sil-ent and
have no
adverse inferences
drawn from
their silence;
and that the
Defendant,
with
the advice
of
counsel,
has
weighed
the
relative
benefits
of a
trial- by
jury
or
by the
Court
versus
a
plea
of
guilty
pursuant
to
this
Agreement, and
has entered this
Agreement
as a matter
of the
Defendant's
free
and
voluntary
choice,
and not as
a
resul-t of
pressure
or
intimidation
by any
person.
9.
The
Defendant
is
aware
that 18 U.S.C. S
3742
and
28
U.S.C.
S
2255
afford
every
defendant certain
rights
to contest
a
conviction
and/or
sentence. Acknowledging
those rights,
the
Defendant,
in
exchange
for
the concessions
made
by the
Government
in this
Plea Agreement,
waives
the right
to
contest either
the conviction or the
sentence
in
any
direct
appeal or other post-conviction action, including
any
proceedings
under
28
U.S.C.
S
2255.
(Thi-s
waiver
does not
apply to
claims
of ineffective
assistance
of
counsel
or
prosecutorial
misconduct
raised
pursuant
to 28
U.S.C.
S
2255 .
)
The
Defendant waives
all rights,
whether
asserted
directly
or by a representati-ve, to request or receive from
any
department
or
agency
of the
united
States
any
records
pertaining
to
the
investigation
or
prosecution
of
this
case,
including
wit.hout
limitation
any
records
that
may
be
10
-9-
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 9 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 10/11
sought under
the
Freedom
552,
or the
Privacy
Act of
The
parties
hereby
agree
the
entire agreement
of
supersedes
aII
prior
statements
of the
parties;
of
Informat
j,on
Act, 5
U. S.
C.
S
L914,5
U.S.C.
S
552a.
that this
PIea
Agreement
contains
the
parties;
that this Agreement
promlses,
representations
and
that this
Agreement
shal-l- not
be
binding
on any
party
until
the Defendant
tenders a
plea
of
guilty
to the
court having
jurisdiction
over
this
matteri
that this
Agreement may
be modified only in writing
signed
by
all
parties;
and that any and al-l
other
promises,
representations
and statements,
whether
made
prior
to,
contemporaneous
with or after
this Agreement,
are null-
and
void.
Date
rs‚µ
• L
/ƒm
/7ƒO
DATE
Z•L– œ
\
/ĂDate
WILLIAM No NETTLES
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
DEFENDANT
IE BARBIER
ORNEY FOR THE DEFENDANT
Y (#1 5)
ITED STATE
ATTORNEY
-10-
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 10 of 11
7/21/2019 HW Group Plea agreement
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hw-group-plea-agreement 11/11
IJ.
S.
DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE
Statement
of Special
Assessment
Amount
This
statement reflects
your
special
assessment
only. There may
be
other
penalties
imposed at sentencing.
This
Special Assessment
is
a
MAKE
CHECK OR
MONEY
ORDER
PAYABLE
TO:
CLERK, U.S.
DISTRICT
COURT
PAYMENT
SHOULD
BE
SENT
TO:
Clerk,
U.S.
District
Court
Matthew J.
Perry,
Jr. Courthouse
901 Richland
Street
Columbia,
SC
29201
OR
FIAND DELIVERED
TO:
Clerk's Office
Matthew
J.
Perry,
Jr.
Courthouse
901 Richland
Street
Columbia,
SC
29201
(Mon.
-
Fri.
8:30
a.m.-
4:30 p.m.)
INCLUDE
DEFENDANT'S
NAME
Oli
CHECK
OR MONEY
ORDEY
(Oo
NS _send
cqsl)
ENCLOSE THIS
COUPON
TO
INSURE
PROPER
and PROMPT APPLIC:ATIOIV
OF
PAYMENT
ACCOUNTINFORMATION
CRIMoACTION NO.:
DEFENDANT'SNAME:
HW GROUP•Œ LLC.
PAY THIS AMOUNT:
$10.00
PAYMENT DUE ON OR
BEFORE:
(date
plea
agreement
signed)
3:16-po-00002-MCRI Date Filed 02/25/16 Entry Number 4 Page 11 of 11
Recommended