Dec. 16 (UPI) — A member of the Sacramento, Calif., City Council and an associate are accused of using false documents to employ illegal immigrants at their businesses, according to a newly unsealed indictment.
Prosecutors alleged in the indictment, unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court, that Council Member Shahriar “Sean” Loloee employed undocumented workers at his Viva Supermarket chain.
Supermarket general manager Karla Montoya was also named in the indictment.
The pair pleaded not guilty during an appearance before a federal magistrate in Sacramento on Friday and were released as prosecutors did not demand they be held, the Sacramento Bee and KCRA-TV reported.
Prosecutors say the pair obstructed investigators. Loloee is also accused of fraud related to COVID-19 relief funds.
“Beginning as early as in or about November 2008 and continuing through in or about October 2023, Loloee and Montoya hired and employed workers at the Viva Supermarkets who used fraudulent documents to satisfy the I-9 employment verification requirement,” U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said in the indictment.
In 2022, the Labor Department filed a suit related to Viva Supermarkets as well as against Montoya and Loloee.
According to the indictment, the pair employed deceptive tactics to avoid Department of Labor scrutiny.
Prosecutors accuse Loloee and Montoya of “threatening adverse immigration consequences if employees cooperated with the agency’s investigation,” as well as “directing employees to lie about aspects of their employment.”
The pair are also accused of “directing some employees to impersonate agency investigators.”
Loloee on Friday denied the charges.
“Today’s news comes as a shock, particularly since I came to this country as a teenager in 1989 with absolutely nothing and have worked tirelessly to meet the needs of the underserved in both my grocery stores and as a member of the city council,” he said in a statement to KCRA.
