BREAKING: 7-Eleven Owners Plead Guilty to Human Trafficking

House of Horror: This dilapidated house in Islip Terrace, Long Island was used by several 7-Eleven franchisees as a modern day plantation.

Via The New York Post

A crew of crooked 7-Eleven franchise owners pleaded guilty to setting up a “plantation” system for illegal alien employees to increase profits at their Slurpee strongholds in Virginia and Long Island, according to the feds.

Five defendants copped to knowingly hiring illegal aliens, siphoning off their earnings and forcing them to live in dingy boarding homes scattered across Suffolk County, according to court papers.

The scheme skimmed a total of $2.6 million that was owed to the workers, court papers state.

“Using the 7-Eleven brand, the defendants dispensed wire fraud and identity theft, along with Big Gulps and candy bars,” said US Attorney Loretta Lynch in a statement. “In our backyards, the defendants not only systematically employed illegal aliens, but concealed their employment by using the names of children and even the dead.”

Mastermind Farrukh Baig — a Pakistani bigshot who counts former Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf as a pal — faces up to 20 years in prison at his sentencing.

Continue reading 7-Eleven owners admit ‘plantation’ system to boost profits [NY Post]

Related

NY couple admits exploiting 7-Eleven workers [Washington Post]
5 Plead Guilty on Long Island to Exploiting 7-Eleven Immigrant Workers [7 Online]
LI husband and wife 7-Eleven owners plead guilty to exploitation scheme [Newsday]
7-Eleven immigration sting suspects plead guilty [Suffolk Times]
NY couple admits exploiting 7-Eleven workers [Daily Record]
7-Eleven Chain Busted For Hiring Illegal Workers And Stealing Identities Of Americans [Inquisitr]

L.I. 7-Eleven Owners Accused of ‘Plantation’ Crimes

L.I. 7-Eleven owners accused of ‘plantation’ crimes

Nine 7-Eleven owners and managers from Long Island and Virginia are under arrest after federal authorities accused them of masterminding an illegal immigration scheme and then exploiting workers smuggled into the country to work in the convenience stores.

The group faces various charges including identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and concealing and harboring illegal immigrants.

Another 7-Eleven manager is a fugitive, and federal agents seized 14 stores. The accused are from Pakistan and the Philippines and recruited workers from those countries.

According to federal investigators, the owners and managers allegedly forced illegal immigrants to work up to 100 hours per week, and extracted rent and other money from them. To cover their tracks, the group allegedly used 20 stolen identities, including those of an 8-year-old child and three dead people.

Federal prosecutors called the scheme a “plantation system,” which continued for 13 years. The workers themselves tipped off authorities to the abuse despite risking deportation because of their unauthorized work status.

L.I. 7-Eleven owners accused of ‘plantation’ crimes [BMD]

Dallas-Based 7-Eleven Seizes Two More Stores in Virginia

Dallas News: Dallas-based 7-Eleven seizes two more stores in Virginia from franchisees in ongoing illegal immigrant investigation

Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. has taken over two more stores in Virginia as a result of pending felony charges against its franchisees brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn.
Last week, federal authorities indicted owners of 7-Eleven stores in Virginia and in New York on Long Island arresting nine owners and managers charging them with harboring and hiring illegal immigrants.

Federal prosecutors called the scheme “a modern-day plantation system” forcing illegal immigrants to live in substandard conditions and giving them false Social Security numbers. Wages were minimal and stolen by managers.

On June 17, 7-Eleven seized control of 14 stores, ten on Long Island and four in Virginia. The company took over two more stores in Virginia on June 18, said 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris on Thursday.

“These stores are now open under the management of 7-Eleven Inc. 7-Eleven will continue to take action against franchisees who violate the law or its franchise agreement,” Chabris said in an emailed statement.

Continue reading Dallas-Based 7-Eleven Seizes Two More Stores in Virginia

What Did 7-Eleven Know?

CSPNet: What Did 7-Eleven Know?

Questions focus on corporate’s central payroll system

DALLAS — A federal probe into human trafficking at 7-Eleven franchise locations is generating more questions and a broader investigation, according to sources familiar with both the company and the charges recently filed.

A federal sweep earlier this month into one of the country’s largest cases of human trafficking netted a slew of indictments against 7-Eleven franchisees in Long Island, N.Y., and Virginia, including conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants employed at the stores, conspiracies to commit wire fraud and stealing identities.

7-Eleven corporate has not been charged with any wrongdoings and most recently issued a directive to its estimated 5,700 franchises to conduct self-reviews by end of June or face up to $1,100 in fines per violation. Additionally, 7-Eleven executive vice president and chief operating officer Darren Rebelez said the company will be conducting its own audits of franchises.

The company’s actions come as sources tell CSP Daily News that the federal probe is expanding into other states and could involve the brand’s entire retail network.

At play is 7-Eleven’s backoffice system and who knew what when, according to several 7-Eleven franchisees who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Basically, the ISP runs the store,” one operator said of 7-Eleven’s in-store processing system, which manages ordering, scan data, payroll and more. The system is so sophisticated it knows how many cups of coffee are sold every day at each store, how many candy bars are sold, how many cigarettes are sold.”

“7-Eleven corporate is extremely involved in the day-to-day operations of the store,” the operator continued. “With all that oversight and sophistication, it’s extremely difficult to believe 7-Eleven couldn’t red-flag the payroll abnormalities that is alleged to have happened.”

Continue reading What Did 7-Eleven Know?

7-Eleven Exploitation Scheme Defendants Go to Court

CSPNet: 7-Eleven Exploitation Scheme Defendants Go to Court

Report looks at how franchisees’ “plantation system” worked

NORFOLK, Va. — The 7-Eleven independent franchisee worker exploitation case has moved to court, and more details are also beginning to emerge about the nature of the scheme that the federal investigation has uncovered. A federal judge in Norfolk, Va., overseeing the case is proceeding with added caution before allowing the defendants to return to their U.S. homes until a trial date out concern they may be flight risks to avoid prosecution.

As reported in a Raymond James/CSP Daily News Flash, Judge Lawrence R. Leonard on Thursday ruled that defendant Tariq Rana would remain in federal custody until trial, said an Associated Press report.

Attorneys said that one person from New York involved in the multi-state scheme has already fled back to Pakistan.

For his decision, the judge cited the nature and severity of offenses, size and scope of charges, unaccounted for money and the fact that Rana is facing a 48-year maximum sentence plus deportation, reported WAVY-TV.

Continue reading 7-Eleven Exploitation Scheme Defendants Go to Court