 “…a large temporary labor staffing company based in Orlando, which supplied temporary labor to numerous businesses in the hotel and hospitality industries throughout Florida and the United States…”
“…Â They also submitted fake hotel contract agreements to conceal their activities and falsely reported that U.S. workers had been hired when they had not…”
A federal jury found a Brazilian woman residing in Orlando guilty of alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and worker visa fraud on Monday, following an investigation that began with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Rafaela Dutra Toro, 30, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. She was indicted on Jan. 26. Her sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
 “The individuals involved in this case orchestrated a very large and very complex visa fraud ring. They took jobs away from U.S. citizens and others who are legally allowed to work in this country by knowingly employing people who were not authorized to work in the United States,” said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI in Tampa. “Through cases like this one, HSI is helping to protect our economy and preserve job opportunities from being lost due to fraud.”
Toro is a citizen of Brazil and will be subject to removal from the United States after serving her sentence. According to evidence presented at trial, Toro worked for VR Services, a large temporary labor staffing company based in Orlando, which supplied temporary labor to numerous businesses in the hotel and hospitality industries throughout Florida and the United States. The scheme allowed Toro and her co-conspirators to set up a permanent foreign labor pool that hired illegal alien workers across the United States in jobs that would normally have been filled by United States citizens. As part of the conspiracy, Toro and her co-conspirators submitted false documentation to the government and manipulated the H-2B foreign worker visa process. They also submitted fake hotel contract agreements to conceal their activities and falsely reported that U.S. workers had been hired when they had not.
For more:Â http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=443603&CategoryId=14090
