Restaurant owner harbored 10 aliens

A Mountain Home man on Thursday pleaded guilty to harboring illegal aliens, waiving his right to a grand jury.

Sen Chen, 46, admitted to housing and transporting 10 illegal aliens who were employed at his restaurant, Chen’s Garden.

Chen faces five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines, according to information provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Chen also pleaded guilty to a forfeiture action.

The forfeiture involved $100,000 in cash, a house valued at $115,000 and a 2007 Ford passenger van, which brought the total value of seized assets to $250,000.

Eight of the aliens were Chinese nationals and two were Mexican nationals, though none had valid identification, said Chris Plumlee, assistant U.S. attorney.

Plumlee said several of the workers had been held as material witnesses but have since been released to Immigrations and CustomsEnforcement, which will start removal proceedings.

Chen hired the workers through a Chicago-based employment agency, though Plumlee said he could not say whether that company will be prosecuted. He said information about the agency would be shared with federal authorities in Chicago, who will make that decision.

Plumlee said the investigation was relatively short and straightforward, lasting only two or three months. He said he didn’t know how longChen had employed illegal aliens, though it had gone on for some time.

The forfeiture was based on the government’s estimate of how much money Chen made from the aliens’ work, Plumlee said. He said while the government may have bee able to seize more from Chen, the goal was not to put them out of business.

“The trick is, they’ve got to do it the right way,” Plumlee said.

Chen will be sentenced in 45-60 days.