More than a dozen 7-Eleven convenience stores in New York and Virginia were raided Monday by federal agents aspart of a nationwide investigation into illegal immigration.
Department of Homeland Security officials arrested nine store owners and managers, the Huffington Post reported. A total of 20 were arrested by early Monday morning, the Post said. Their charges included harboring and hiring illegal immigrants, wire fraud, and creating and using bogus Social Security numbers for their illegal workers.
The raids came after a lengthy investigation into human smuggling, identity theft and money laundering, the Post reported. The store owners who were arrested were alleged to have helped the workers into the United States from Pakistan, AP said.
The store owners are also facing charges on not paying their workers the minimum wage, the Post reported.
The investigation is “part of a nationwide sweep involving hundreds of agents,” the Long Island Newsday reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.