Agriprocessors: Human Resources and Managers Indicted (again)

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Human Resources and Management Gone Wild

The story of Agriprocessors, a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa has bled out into the news almost daily since it began with a huge ICE immigration raid at the Iowa plant on May 12, 2008.

The story is starting to reach a culmination point now that many of the managers, including the former CEO Sholom Rubashkin, son of the owner, Aaron Rubashkin, have been indicted on numerous state and federal charges.

Rubashkin is currently being held without bail awaiting several trials.

Two supervisors are reported to have fled to Israel to avoid prosecution,

A member of the Human Resources department is out on bail with conditions, including the requirement to wear an electronic bracelet for monitoring.

Ummm, wtf?

This is definitely a case of "Wild n' Crazy HR"!

From the Iowa Independent article:

Agriprocessors, five Postville plant managers indicted by grand jury

Charges include conspiracy, harboring illegal aliens, aggravated identity theft, and fraud
By Lynda Waddington

Hosam Amara, left, and Zeev Levi are former members of the management team at Agriprocessors. Both men are believed to have fled the jurisdiction following the massive May 12 immigration raid at the plant and are wanted by federal authorities. They are two of the five members of management indicted by grand jury.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa unsealed new charges against Agriprocessors and five members of the meatpacking company’s management team today. The charges, ranging from immigration-related offenses to bank fraud, are included in a 12-count indictment.

Members of management named in the indictment are former Agriprocessors Chief Executive Sholom M. Rubashkin, 49; plant Operations Manager Brent Beebe, 51; former plant Poultry Manager Hosam Amara, 44; former plant Poultry Manager Zeev Levi; and former plant human resources employee Karina Freund, 29.

Charges from the indictment are as follows:

Agriprocessors, Inc. — conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, harboring undocumented aliens for profit, conspiracy to commit document fraud, aiding and abetting document fraud, six counts of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft, and two counts of bank fraud
Rubashkin — conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, harboring undocumented aliens for profit, conspiracy to commit document fraud, aiding and abetting document fraud, six counts of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft, and two counts of bank fraud
Beebe — conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, harboring undocumented aliens for profit, conspiracy to commit document fraud, aiding and abetting document fraud, and six counts of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft
Amara — conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, harboring undocumented aliens for profit, conspiracy to commit document fraud, and aiding and abetting document fraud
Levi — conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, harboring undocumented aliens for profit, conspiracy to commit document fraud, and aiding and abetting document fraud
Freund — conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit and harboring undocumented aliens for profit (The harboring charge is restated from a prior indictment, but the conspiracy to harbor charge is new.)
Beebe was arrested without incident at approximately noon at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the U.S. Marshals Service. He is slated to appear this afternoon in federal court in Cedar Rapids for an initial appearance and arraignment.

Rubashkin, who learned yesterday that he would remain in federal custody until trial on a different charge, is already being held in the Dubuque County Jail. Freund was released on conditions including electronic monitoring.

Federal authorities continue to search for Amara and Levi, both believed to have fled the jurisdiction shortly after the massive May 12 immigration raid at the kosher meatpacking plant. Iowa Independent was the first news outlet to report that Amara was believed to have fled. Those with information regarding Amara’s or Levi’s whereabouts are encouraged to contact ICE at (866) 347-2423.

Arraignments for Agriprocessors, Rubashkin and Freund have been scheduled for Nov. 26. In addition, Rubashkin and Freund already had a trial on other charges related to Agriprocessors slated for Jan. 20, 2009.

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