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Suspected illegals at landscape firm detained
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MCSO served warrants to this landscaping business, Artistic Land Management Inc. in Mesa Wednesday afternoon.
Jennifer Grimes, Tribune
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office arrested 29 employees of a Mesa business after serving search warrants Wednesday morning at two Mesa offices of Artistic Land Management, an East Valley landscaping firm.
Twenty of the alleged illegal immigrants will be booked on suspicion of identity theft, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The warrants were related to an investigation into potential violations of Arizona’s employer sanctions law.
The sheriff’s office said 69 of 127 employees had “employment discrepancies consistent with identity theft.” The agency said it identified 19 men with Hispanic surnames who used someone else’s Social Security number.
The sheriff’s office said it began its investigation in April after a former employee reported that
the business was knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
Two offices of the business were involved in the raid, one at 2231 W. Main St. and the other at 6534 S. Rowen St.
No one answered the phone at the business late Wednesday morning.
Two employees at the Main Street address, who wouldn’t identify themselves, said the owner, Jose Hernandez, was gone for the day.
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