Bartow County contractor Juan Antonio Perez, 46, of Rydal, Georgia, is facing federal charges for running a construction operation built on exploited labor and illegal gains. Authorities say Perez’s company, Aztec Framing, which operated in northwest Georgia and eastern Tennessee, profited by hiring undocumented workers and paying them below-market wages—while dodging taxes entirely. The indictment also reveals a cache of 14 firearms found in his home, possession of which is strictly prohibited for non-citizens.
Perez, who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally in 1992, built a lavish lifestyle off the backs of vulnerable workers. His company, with offices in Cartersville and Rossville, Georgia, and Hixon, Tennessee, reportedly paid no payroll taxes or Social Security, provided zero benefits, and exploited undocumented laborers for over a decade. Despite owning a 7,500-square-foot home, multiple rental properties, and more than 50 high-end vehicles, the Georgia Department of Labor had no record of Perez reporting any income as of April 2019.
“Perez not only broke the law by allegedly hiring illegal aliens at below-market wages and paying no taxes, he had a large assortment of weapons including shotguns and pistols that he had acquired through various means other than buying them himself,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. Federal law bars illegal aliens from owning firearms, and investigators are now tracing how Perez obtained the 14 weapons recovered during a search of his home on April 30, 2019.
Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan of Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta called the case a multi-layered public safety threat. “Individuals, like Mr. Perez, who flagrantly violate federal law to give themselves an unfair business advantage are cheating both law-abiding employers and employees exploited by these unfair and illegal labor practices,” Annan said. HSI emphasized that enforcement will continue targeting not just undocumented workers, but the employers who profit from their exploitation.
Perez was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 7, 2019, and is scheduled for arraignment at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 13, 2019, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson. The charges include employment of illegal aliens, tax fraud, and illegal possession of firearms. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Traynor is prosecuting the case.
Multiple agencies collaborated on the investigation, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force, the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, and the Polk County Drug Task Force. The public is reminded that the indictment contains only charges; Perez is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
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Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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