Man Gets 30 Months For Selling Illegal Immigrant Labor

A Northwest Arkansas man received a 30-month sentence in federal court in Fayetteville after pleading guilty to a mass illegal immigration labor scheme.

Valentin Gutierrez ran an operation in Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama that gave counterfeit immigration documents and fake Social Security cards to illegal immigrants, whose labor was then sold to companies in the three states, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigation.

An investigation into Gutierrez’s financial records showed he made bank deposits of about $6.4 million between May and December in 2008. Homeland Security seized $117,100 from Gutierrez’s accounts.

He pleaded guilty in May to one count of harboring and shielding illegal aliens for financial gain in federal court. In addition to his 30-month sentence, a U.S. District Court judge ordered Gutierrez to pay $10,000 in fines and serve two years under supervision upon his release from prison, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.

Rogers police, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Springdale Police Department and the FBI also assisted on the case.