Four men who work for a Kentucky-based construction company were charged Tuesday with harboring illegal immigrants after federal investigators found dozens of undocumented workers at three of the company’s construction sites.
A raid Tuesday at home sites in Hebron, Union and Florence revealed 76 undocumented workers laboring as subcontractors at the sites.
The arrests were the result of a yearlong investigation into the home-building company by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division and local authorities.
Timothy Copsy, Doug Witt, William Allison and Bill Ring each face one count.
The men — who work in supervisory roles for Fischer Homes, part of the Fischer Group in Crestview Hills, Ky. — were arrested and charged in U.S. District Court. They face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. All four men posted bond and were released.
The workers may face federal misdemeanor charges and others could face administrative immigration violations, said Dean Boyd, a spokesman for ICE.
According to the complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, authorities visited several Fischer home sites in January claiming to be searching for a Hispanic male wanted in Texas for murder.
When officials interviewed workers on the site, many admitted to being in the country illegally. The complaint alleges the managers at each of the sites knew they were using undocumented workers. The investigation is ongoing, Boyd said.
Tuesday’s arrests were the latest in recent efforts by ICE to stop companies who knowingly employ undocumented workers.
