Federal Agents Raid Long Island 7-Eleven Stores

John Mitty Monday, June 17, 2013

A dozen different 7-Elevens were raided by federal agents on Monday morning, following an investigation into illegal immigration from Pakistan and stolen U.S. identities. Nine different franchise owners have been charged with fraud conspiracy, identity theft, and crimes relating to illegal immigration. The stolen identities were taken from children and deceased people. Furthermore, the 7-Eleven owners abused their illegal workers, stealing their wages and forcing them to live in unregulated boarding systems. The immigrants were forced to work up to 100 hours a week. These inhumane conditions equated to what U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch referred to as “a modern day plantation system.”

Officials have detained more than a dozen illegal workers, while the defendants in the case are scheduled for arraignment on Monday in Norfolk,VA and Central Islip. After finding such a large local conspiracy, investigators have decided to investigate 7-Elevens elsewhere in the country to see if any other franchise owners may be involved in similar modern-day plantation labor schemes. These illegal work schemes hurt foreign workers (in effect, slaves) as well as U.S. citizens, and are only the tip of the iceberg as far as human trafficking crimes in the U.S. are concerned.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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