Jury convicts George's Processing employee of harboring an illegal alien

Another former employee pleads guilty to identity theft

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a former George's Processing Inc. employee of harboring an illegal alien and inducing an illegal alien to enter or reside in the United States. This announcement was made by U.S. Attorney John F. Wood, Western District of Missouri; the case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Another former George's Processing employee recently pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft in a separate but related case.

Dora Ruiz, 33, of Monett, Mo., was found guilty on Tuesday of two counts contained in an Oct. 16, 2007 federal indictment. In a separate but related case, Sinthia Valadez-Ramirez, 23, address unknown, pleaded guilty Jan. 8 to aiding and abetting others to commit aggravated identity theft. Both Ruiz and Valadez-Ramirez formerly worked in the human resources department at George's Processing in Butterfield, Mo., and they were involved in the hiring process at the plant.

"These convictions mark an important development in our continued commitment to pursuing employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens," Wood said.

Ruiz was found guilty of aiding and abetting others to harbor an illegal alien at George's Processing, and of aiding and abetting others to induce an illegal alien to enter or reside in the United States between Dec. 14, 2005 and May 22, 2007.