Norcross man sentenced for recruiting illegal immigrants

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Norcross man who recruited and employed illegal immigrants in Chinese restaurants was sentenced Thursday to 16 months in federal prison.

Pili Chen, 56, and his wife, Xiao Ping Li, who remains a fugitive, ran an employment agency in Chamblee that found jobs for illegal immigrants, primarily undocumented Mexican workers, across the eastern U.S., prosecutors said.

The agency charged illegal immigrants a commission and transportation fee to place them in jobs and drive them there, and in some cases charged the restaurant owners, who deducted the fees from the workers' modest pay, according to prosecutors.

Thursday's sentencing followed the January sentencings of three others in related cases.

"These defendants not only broke the law by employing workers who were illegally in the United States, they exploited the workers by subjecting them to long shifts, substandard pay and poor working conditions," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said. "As this case shows, we will hold employers responsible -- including business owners and managers -- who attempt to gain an unlawful economic advantage by hiring employees who are not permitted to be in the United States."

Following his prison term, Chen must serve three years of supervised release.