ICE Prescott, multiagency case results in owners of northern Arizona businesses arrested for illegal employment practices

PRESCOTT, Ariz. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and multiple state, local and federal law enforcement agencies executed federal search warrants July 15 at five Colt Grill restaurants and 12 residences in two states after a three-year labor exploitation investigation and a five-count federal indictment against four individuals in Arizona. Significant assistance was provided by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office with execution of the search warrants.

“The success of this investigation is in large part due to the coordinated efforts of many law enforcement agencies working alongside HSI through the Homeland Security Task Forces,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Arizona acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede. “This multiyear case involving several federal charges is a testament of our commitment to combatting crime that has true impact to communities. I thank everyone involved — this case was true team effort.”

A grand jury in Phoenix returned an indictment May 27, against Robert and Brenda Clouston, both 61, of northern Arizona, and Luis Pedro Rogel-Jaimes, 33, and Iris Romero-Molina, 29, both illegal aliens from Mexican residing in Cottonwood, Arizona, for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to unlawfully enter the United States, and pattern and practice of knowingly employing unauthorized aliens.

The indictment alleges that Robert and Brenda Clouston operated four Colt Grill restaurants in the northern Arizona cities of Cottonwood, Prescott, Prescott Valley, and Sedona, and one Colt Grill in Foley, Alabama. In September 2022, the Cloustons, along with Rogel-Jaimes and Romero-Molina, made a plan that Romero-Molina would create a cleaning company, R&R AZ Cleaning, that would operate as a staffing company for the Colt Grill restaurants. Rogel-Jaimes and Romero-Molina would then find undocumented workers to work at the restaurants, paying them through R&R AZ Cleaning with funds from Colt Grill. The undocumented workers were paid below minimum wage and were not compensated for overtime. The Cloustons, Rogel-Jaimes, and Romero-Molina benefited financially from the plan and did not pay proper employment taxes for the workers.

All four indicted individuals were arrested July 15 without incident. While executing the warrants, law enforcement also arrested several undocumented illegal aliens for criminal or administrative immigration violations.

“Cooperation is the cornerstone for law enforcement in Arizona and this case demonstrates the great outcome that comes from federal and local law enforcement working together,” said United States Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “The United States Attorney’s Office is grateful to HSI for their hard work on this investigation and extremely appreciative to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office for their support and willingness to keep their community safe from bad actors.”

“On behalf of the citizens of Yavapai County, I want to thank our federal partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and all our local agencies for their collaboration with the men and women of Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office in dismantling this criminal enterprise,” said Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes. “Coordinated, multiagency enforcement actions like this one are essential to protecting our communities from the destabilizing impacts of organized crime. By working together, we will continue to leverage every available resource to safeguard the people of Yavapai County from those who seek to do harm.”

A conviction for conspiracy to bring illegal aliens to the United States unlawfully, conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, and conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to unlawfully enter the United States each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. A conviction for pattern and practice of knowingly employing unauthorized aliens carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and up to a $3,000 fine per unauthorized employee.

An indictment is a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)