Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Hillman Shrimp and Oyster Company, a Houston-area supplier of Gulf Coast oysters and shrimp, its owner and four employees were indicted for their roles in a scheme to recruit and hire illegal immigrants to work at the company, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced today.

The company, with processing facilities in Dickinson and Port Lavaca, and Antonio Ramos Gonzalez, 44, a Mexican national and legal resident alien employed by the company as a manager, have been charged with numerous immigration charges.

Ramos has been charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud, encouraging and inducing undocumented immigrants to enter and illegally remain in the United States as seasonal employees for the company, using false identification documents and making false statements to a federal agency.

Gonzalez, the company's designated agent to submit visa applications to the United States Consulate General in Mexico to employ illegal immigrant temporary workers, is also charged with three additional felony counts of visa fraud relating to three of the illegal alien employees.

The indictment, which was returned Wednesday, also charges Clifford Hillman, 56, the owner of the company, and Steve Taylor, 32; Wendy Taylor, 30; and Derenda Campbell, all of Texas City, with conspiracy to hire and recruit undocumented aliens for employment at the facilities, a misdemeanor violation.

The indictment alleges that beginning in 1999 through late June 2004, the company and Gonzalez conspired to employ aliens who were not authorized to be employed in the United States.

The scheme allegedly involved the use of false identification documents and false statements to secure H2-B visas for aliens to be temporarily employed in a nonagricultural position or for seasonal work and the filing of falsely certified employment eligibility forms by the company.

The company faces a maximum fine of $500,000 if convicted of the felony conspiracy charge alleged in Count One of the indictment. Gonzalez faces a maximum of five years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine if convicted of this count. As to each of the three counts of visa fraud, Gonzalez faces a maximum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, if convicted.