U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg has announced that Hua Yao Ke, 38, of Jacksonville has pleaded guilty to establishing a commercial enterprise for the purpose of evading a provision of the immigration laws. Ke faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, Ke owned and operated the Kamiya 86 Sushi and Thai restaurant located in Ponte Vedra Beach, where he employed workers who were unlawfully present in the United States. Contrary to federal law, Ke did not require the workers to provide documents to establish that they could legally work in the United States, according to a report from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Ke also owned a residence at which he provided free housing to the undocumented workers, and he provided the workers with free transportation between the house and the restaurant, the report said. He also paid the workers in cash and did not withhold taxes and other payments from the workers’ wages, the report said.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Border Patrol with assistance from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.
