WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J. (AP) - A dry cleaner who knowingly hired workers who were living in the country illegally and didn’t collect and pay their payroll taxes is now headed to prison.
Federal prosecutors say Bill Li received a one-year sentence Friday.
The 50-year-old Williamstown man owned Minuteman Cleaners in Williamstown. Prosecutors say he hired the workers, who primarily were from Mexico and Guatemala, in 2012 and 2013.
They say the employees had to work six days a week, about 10 hours each day, and were paid between $400 and $500 in cash per week. They also were allowed to live in a house that Li co-owned.
Prosecutors say Li didn’t pay employment taxes of at least $79,000, and did so knowingly for his own financial gain.
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