The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, Mike Hurst announced that three people have been charged in a four-count criminal indictment with harboring and shielding illegal aliens, hiring illegal aliens, continuing employment of illegal aliens and wire fraud.
Cheng Lin, 35, Guo Guang Lin, 60, and Yan Fei Tang, 33 have all been living in Meridian. Lin and Lin are legal permanent residents while Tang is an illegal alien from China.
Lin, Lin, and Tang were engaged in a pattern ad practice of employing illegal aliens at China Buffet II in Meridian. They were transporting these individuals to and from work every day, providing housing, and taking rent payments out of their cash wages. They also submitted false tax documents in an effort to shield the illegal aliens from detection.
“Those who come into our country illegally and those who harbor and employ them will be vigorously prosecuted by this office. We will not allow those who violate the law to steal jobs and expend resources intended for American citizens and those here legally,” said Hurst.
Lin, Lin, and Tang are scheduled for trial on January 8, 2018 before U.S. District Judge David C. Bramlette, III.
If convicted they could each face up to 80 years in prison and fines over $500,000.
