Miami, Florida - An indictment was unsealed Tuesday charging three men who operated labor-staffing companies in Florida with conspiracy to harbor non-resident aliens and induce them to remain in the country and with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the indictment, Mykhaylo Chugay, Oleksandr Morgunov, Volodymyr Ogorodnychuk and others owned and operated a series of labor-staffing companies in southern Florida, including Paradise Choice LLC, Paradise Choice Cleaning LLC, Tropical City Services LLC, and Tropical City Group LLC, between August 2007 and July 2021. The indictment charges that the defendants, through these staffing companies, facilitated the employment in the hospitality industry of non-resident aliens who were not authorized to work in the United States.
If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the conspiracy to harbor aliens and induce them to remain in the United States and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the money laundering conspiracy. Each count also carries the possibility of a fine and supervised release upon completion of any sentence of incarceration. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigation are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Sean Beaty and Jessica Kraft of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Clark of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.