Following the recent arrests at a US leather manufacturer, agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have now arrested some 62 managers and employees at Quality Service Integrity Inc. (QSI), a cleaning service operating within the Cargill Meat Solutions Plant, on criminal charges of aggravated identity theft.

Evidence uncovered in the investigation indicated that valid identities of US residents and citizens were allegedly obtained and used to employ illegal aliens at QSI. The targets of the warrants were employees and managers of QSI, which is under contract by Cargill to clean the meat processing plant. Neither Cargill Meat Solutions nor its employees have been charged with any crime.

The investigation, which began in January, revealed that most of the QSI workforce was composed of illegal aliens. If convicted, the statutory penalty for aggravated identity theft is a mandatory minimum two years in prison.