<div id="metaslider-id-9030" style="max-width: 700px;" class="ml-slider-3-100-1 metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-9030 ml-slider ms-theme-default" role="region" aria-label="Business hiring illegal aliens" data-height="500" data-width="700">
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 <li style="display: block; width: 100%;" class="slide-9028 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 11:53:59"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6823-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9028 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9029 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:00:10"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6832-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9029 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9031 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:05:23"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6770-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9031 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9032 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:06:46"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6862-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9032 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9033 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:08:58"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6821-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9033 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9034 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:10:10"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6786-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9034 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9035 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:12:17"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6808-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9035 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9036 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:14:01"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6824-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9036 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9037 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:18:41"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6846-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9037 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9038 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:20:53"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6807-2-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9038 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9039 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:23:00"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6844-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9039 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9040 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:23:58"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Branson-airport-terminal-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9040 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
 <li style="display: none; width: 100%;" class="slide-9041 ms-image " aria-roledescription="slide" data-date="2015-07-14 12:25:37"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6836-700x500.jpg" height="500" width="700" alt="" class="slider-9030 slide-9041 msDefaultImage" /><div class="caption-wrap"><div class="caption"> According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</div></div></li>
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<h2>Resort Business Owners Indicted for Harboring Illegal Aliens as Branson Workers</h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">BRANSON, MO (July 14, 2015)—Have you been to Branson lately and enjoyed the well-maintained golf courses and fine hotels and restaurants? There is a good chance that many of the workers who provided those services were illegal aliens and the businesses that were charging you top rates were paying dirt cheap for their help.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_9028" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9028" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6823.jpg"><img class="wp-image-9028 size-medium" src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6823-300x225.jpg" alt="The Hollywood Wax Museum is on 'The Strip' in Branson, Missouri. The resort is where much of middle America vacations with water sports, great shows and other attractions, all supported by a large hospitality industry. FBI says many workers are illegal aliens. THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY photos" width="300" height="225" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-9028" class="wp-caption-text">The Hollywood Wax Museum is on &#8216;The Strip&#8217; in Branson, Missouri. The resort is where much of middle America vacations with water sports, great shows and other attractions, all supported by a large hospitality industry. FBI says many workers are illegal aliens. THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY photos</figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that two Florida men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for harboring illegal aliens working for their labor leasing businesses in Branson, Mo.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Martin Ghambaryan, 29, and Mikayel V. Abrahamyan, 34, both of whom are Armenian nationals and legal permanent residents of the United States residing in Delray Beach, Fla., were charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, July 8, 2015.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Ghambaryan incorporated MGM Union, LLC, in Missouri in 2008 and Abrahamyan incorporated Seasonal Labor Solutions, LLC, in Missouri in 2009. Both businesses have Branson addresses. According to today’s indictment, Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan allowed other persons to assert de facto control over those businesses and operate them as labor leasing companies that supplied workers to various businesses in and around the Branson area, such as hotels, restaurants, golf courses and entertainment venues.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> The federal indictment alleges that Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan, knowingly and in reckless disregard of the fact that aliens were in the United States in violation of law, concealed, harbored, and shielded numerous illegal aliens from detection. The indictment alleges Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan conspired with, and aided and abetted, the de facto operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions to harbor those illegal aliens and conceal them from detection.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_9029" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9029" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6832.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-9029" src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSCF6832-300x225.jpg" alt="The Clay Cooper Theatre in Branson, Missouri. " width="300" height="225" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-9029" class="wp-caption-text">The Clay Cooper Theatre in Branson, Missouri.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The operators of MGM applied for federal authorization to employ non-citizen workers with H-2B visas (a non-immigrant visa granted to aliens seeking to work in the United States on a temporary or seasonal non-agricultural work basis). MGM’s application to employ alien workers with H-2B visas was denied, the indictment says, and MGM never received authorization to employ alien workers with H-2B visas. No one acting on behalf of Seasonal Labor Solutions ever even applied for that authorization, according to the indictment.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Even though MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions never received legal authorization to employ alien workers with H-2B visas, the indictment says, the operators of those companies routinely employed alien workers with H-2B visas, thereby placing the alien workers in an illegal employment status and rendering the alien workers subject to deportation for violating the terms and conditions of their visas.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> The operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions allegedly also employed undocumented aliens who were not legally entitled to be in the United States, much less be employed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> These alien workers, whether they were undocumented or had some form of work visa, were typically required to live in certain hotels and apartments in the Branson area, the indictment says, creating a situation where the workers had to make a rent payment to the operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions. These alien workers also were dependent on the operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions for transportation to and from their living quarters to their jobs, and were transported in vans provided by their employers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> According to the indictment, workers often ended up owing large debts to the operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions, which were then deducted from the workers’ paychecks, leaving the workers with minimal take home pay.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> The operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions routinely allowed alien workers to remain on the payroll following expiration of a temporary work visa, the indictment says. They allegedly collected fees from the alien workers based on the promise of obtaining extensions of the temporary work visa, but routinely failed to do so, leaving the alien workers in an illegal employment status. The operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions used the alien workers’ illegal employment status, and the threat of potential removal and deportation from the United States, as a way to compel the aliens to continue working.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> The federal indictment alleges that Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan, knew, and acted in reckless disregard of the fact that the de facto operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions routinely employed alien workers with H-2B visas, thereby placing the alien workers in an illegal employment status, and rendering the alien workers subject to deportation for violating the terms and conditions of their visas. The indictment also alleges that Ghambaryan and Abrahamyan, knew, and acted in reckless disregard of the fact that the de facto operators of MGM and Seasonal Labor Solutions also employed undocumented aliens who were not legally entitled to be in the United States, much less be employed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Between April 27, 2009, and Dec. 28, 2009, the de facto operators of MGM funneled more than $220,000 into MGM’s business checking account to pay the alien workers illegally employed by and harbored by MGM.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Between Jan. 8, 2010, and Nov. 2, 2010, the de facto operators of Seasonal Labor Solutions funneled more than $490,000 into Seasonal Labor Solutions’ business checking account to pay the alien workers illegally employed by and harbored by Seasonal Labor Solutions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> This case is being prosecuted by Criminal Division Chief Gene Porter. It was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Also participating in the investigation were the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services; the U.S. Department of State, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI.</span></p>