Springfield restaurant owner pleads guilty to hiring undocumented workers for his business
Lorenzo Castro-Manzanarez, a Mexican national and restaurant owner, pleaded guilty to being part of a conspiracy to employ undocumented immigrants in his businesses, providing them with false identification documents and continuing to employ them even after being indicted.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Springfield restaurant owner and Mexican national pleaded guilty to being part of a racketeering conspiracy to employ undocumented immigrants for his business on Monday, July 28, in federal court.
According to a news release by the U.S. Attorney's Office, 43-year-old Lorenzo Castro-Manzanarez, who resides in Springfield, admitted to being involved in a RICO conspiracy to transport and harbor undocumented immigrants in the United States from Jan. 1, 2018, to Aug. 10, 2021.
The immigrants were used by Castro-Manzanarez to keep Mexican restaurants he owned in Springfield, Columbia and Jefferson City, staffed and profitable, the U.S. Attorney's Office says. He gave them false identification documentation, such as fraudulent Social Security cards, giving his restaurant an illegal business advantage.
Castro-Manzanarez also admitted to falsely stating he was a legal U.S. citizen on a Form I-9 and using a counterfeit Social Security card while filling out the same form. He also admitted while on bond to continuing to employ undocumented immigrants and provide them with housing in his name after he was indicted.
Castro-Manzanarez will remain in custody until his sentencing hearing. He is facing up to a 20-year sentence in federal prison without parole under federal statutes.
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