Ex-business owner in Branson admits scheme to illegally place Filipino workers in South Carolina

December 20, 2011|edited news release

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A former owner of a business in Branson pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday for a visa fraud scheme. John Voisine admitted he illegally sent Filipino workers to fill jobs in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

At the time of this fraud, Voisine was the owner and president of Santa Cruz Management, a labor leasing company that provided foreign workers to employers in the Branson area under H-2B visas. Santa Cruz Management was listed among the nation’s top five H2B employers in a report released by the U. S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration in 2009.

Through his company, Voisine knowingly submitted H2B application forms containing falsifications or misrepresentations to the U.S. Department of Labor in October 2007. The forms said Santa Cruz Management would employ 306 workers from the Philippines in the housekeeping industry at hotels and motels in the Branson area during 2008.

In reality, 86 foreign workers were illegally displaced by Santa Cruz Management to fulfill labor contracts in Myrtle Beach from Jan. 1 to July 21, 2008. Santa Cruz Management was not approved as an H-2B employer for Myrtle Beach.

By pleading guilty, Voisine agreed to forfeit to the government $169,661, which represents his profit from the scheme. Santa Cruz Management earned $520,198 in gross revenue from the contracts in South Carolina, with approximately $350,537 in gross wages paid to the unlawfully employed foreign workers.

This investigation was initiated by the U.S. Embassy in Manila after discovering that Santa Cruz Management had petitioned for a significantly higher number of foreign workers than in previous years. A preliminary investigation conducted by the embassy revealed foreign workers were not employed at locations listed on the H2B visa petition. The Diplomatic Security Service then requested assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations to investigate potential visa fraud violations.

Voisine could receive a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

The U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services investigated the case.

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