Restaurant Owner Sentenced for Harboring and Employing Illegal Aliens
New Orleans, Louisiana – Somphon Chiwabandit, the owner of Thai Thai, LLC. d/b/a Sticky Rice Thai Cuisine, was sentenced to time served (4 months) and a $100 special assessment fee on January 24, 2024 for harboring and unlawfully employing illegal aliens.
According to court records, Special Agents of Homeland Security Investigations conducted surveillance on the restaurant as well as on a home owned, and an apartment rented by Chiwabandit. The defendant admitted in court that he provided housing, transportation, and employment to two illegal aliens.
Chiwabandit also admitted to failing to list the illegal aliens on a Form I-9, which is used to verify employment eligibility for a business’s employees. By law, employers are required to maintain Form I-9s for all employees.
The defendant will be surrendered to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings. Chiwabandit also had to forfeit $24,640.
United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Covington Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jon Maestri is in charge of the prosecution.
Chiwabandit, 47, a native of Thailand, had been in the United States illegally for the past seven years, by overstaying a business visitor visa.
Thai Thai, LLC. d/b/a Sticky Rice Thai Cuisine was also sentenced to a 1 year term of probation and a $400 special assessment fee.
Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Human Trafficking|Immigration Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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