MINNEAPOLIS—Three St. Paul men and a California man were recently indicted for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to unlawfully employ and harbor aliens at the Mall of America.
Avraham Nadivi, 31, Yehiel Shpitser, 30, and Adam Vaknin, 32, all of St. Paul; and Yosi Rachamim, 31, of Woodland Hills, California, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit unlawful employment and harboring of aliens, seven counts of unlawful employment of aliens, and four counts of harboring of certain aliens.
The indictment alleges that from September 21, 2009, through June 19, 2013, the defendants conspired with each other and others to hire and recruit foreign nationals who were in or coming to the United States on visitor visas to work at the defendants’ hair and beauty products kiosks at the Mall of America.
According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly paid for apartments and electricity bills for the employees, and purchased and leased several vehicles to transport the employees to and from work.
A visitor visa is a non-immigrant visa for persons who want to enter the U.S. and persons holding such a visa are not authorized to work in the U.S. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has no record for the past three years of any employees of YA & YA, although various individuals have been observed working there.
One of those employees, Lihi Aliza Elgrably, 26, of St. Paul, was charged with one count of visa fraud in a related case. Elgrably’s indictment alleges that from January 27 to February 15, 2010, she submitted a petition to adjust her immigration status and allegedly withheld information about her employment with YA & YA.
If convicted, Nadivi, Rachamim, Shpitser, and Vaknin face a potential maximum penalty of ten years in prison on each harboring count, five years on the conspiracy count, and six months on each unlawful employment count. Elgrably faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years. Any sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge.
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Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Category: Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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