Dec 18, 2008 8:51 am US/Eastern
Co-Owner Of Md. Restaurant Gets 3 Years In Prison
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) ―
Federal prosecutors say a businessman who employed illegal immigrants in his family's Wheaton restaurant has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Francisco Solano, co-owner El Pollo Rico, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty earlier this year to conspiring to harbor immigrants and commit money laundering and arranging his bank transactions to avoid having to report them.
Prosecutors say Solano, 57, must forfeit $7.2 million derived from the illegal activities, including 13 bank and investor accounts and seven properties in Maryland and Virginia.
The Germantown resident received the longest sentence of the four defendants in the case.
According to a plea agreement, Solano concealed illegal immigrants in homes and businesses he and his wife owned, paying them in cash for their work and accepting only cash for rent.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Winter Storm Hits Maryland, Part 3
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