A company with close ties to a Texas trailer manufacturer has pleaded guilty to felony fraud charges and agreed to pay $5 million in an investigation related to unlawful employment of aliens.
In the Eastern District of Texas on Feb. 15, 4TMFG LLC pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting document fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kimberly C. Priest Johnson, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston.
According to information presented in court, 4T MFG is a company with common ownership and leadership related to trailer manufacturer Load Trail.
In 2018, a search warrant executed at Load Trail revealed multiple employees with immigration documentation that was either misleading or fraudulent. During the search, federal agents verified that 4T MFG employed individuals who lacked legal authorization to work in the United States. At least 18 individuals had resident alien cards that had been forged, counterfeited, altered, falsely made, procured by means of false claim or statement, and otherwise unlawfully obtained in violation of federal law.
4TMFG LLC, along with Load Trail, has agreed to pay forfeiture of $5 million. Two prior CEOs of 4T MFG also are charged with misdemeanors for violating federal law regarding the unlawful employment of aliens. Those individuals, Cornelio Thiessen, 52, of Honey Grove, and Kevin Hiebert, 39, of Honey Grove, face up to six months in federal prison at sentencing.
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McClendon.