BIDDEFORD — Two brothers who owned several Mexican restaurants have pleaded guilty to hiring illegal immigrants and making false statements to federal agents.
On Monday, in U.S. District Court in Portland, Guillermo Fuentes, 38, of Westbrook, and Hector Fuentes, 40, of Waterville, pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring 10 or more illegal immigrants in a 12-month period and making false statements.
According to court documents, the employment charge relates to hiring practices at the Fajita Grill restaurant in Westbrook. The false statement charge arises from statements made by the brothers to agents in September 2011, following their arrests.
According to court documents, they falsely stated that federally required documentation regarding the immigration status of their employees at the Fajita Grill and Cancun Mexican Restaurant in Waterville had been properly completed.
The brothers were arrested and federal raids were conducted at the restaurants in September 2011, as well as the Cancun Mexican Restaurant ll in Biddeford.
The two were convicted in 2013 of conspiracy, harboring undocumented workers for profit, and aiding and abetting document fraud. But a new trial was ordered after it was learned that one of the jurors used a racial slur to describe the defendants, according to Associated Press reports.
In a court affidavit, Special Agent James Bell, with the Department of Homeland Security, stated he began his investigation in 2008 after being contacted by the Westbrook Police Department.
According to Bell, when police stopped several Hispanic men for routine traffic violations, they claimed to be from Mexico and couldn’t provide any U.S. identification documents. Since the men all appeared to work at The Fajita Grill, this prompted a potential criminal investigation of the restaurant and its owner, Guillermo Fuentes, said Bell.
The investigation also expanded to include Hector Fuentes and his Waterville and Biddeford restaurants.
In his affidavit, Bell details his interviews with four individuals who stated they were employed by the Fuentes brothers. All four stated they are Mexican citizens unlawfully present in the U.S.
Some said they weren’t required to present identification documents to be hired, while others said they were told to make up Social Security numbers. Several said they had discussed their illegal status in the U.S. with one or both of the brothers.
All four also said, according to Bell, that they and others temporarily resided, rent-free, in the basement of the Fajita Grill, where they slept on cardboard and blankets and used buckets of water to bathe.
In an interview with Westbrook Code Enforcement Officer Richard Gouzie, Bell said Gouzie discovered evidence that someone was living in the basement of the Fajita Grill. Guillermo Fuentes told Gouzie that employees used the basement as a rest area, stated Bell.
The defendants face up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. The U.S. Probation Office will sentence them after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation report.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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