A worksite enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has uncovered significant identity theft affecting over 100 victims nationwide. The investigation revealed that illegal aliens used the stolen identities to secure employment at Glenn Valley Foods.
The multiagency probe identified around 70 illegal aliens using stolen Social Security numbers and personal information, leading to unlawful access to wages, health benefits, and employment authorization. This has resulted in severe financial, emotional, and legal issues for more than 100 real victims.
Mark Zito, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City, expressed concern over the situation. “There have been individuals who have gone on the record recently referring to the identity thieves we arrested last week as ‘good, hardworking, and honest,’” Zito said. “These so-called honest workers have caused an immeasurable amount of financial and emotional hardship for innocent Americans. If pretending to be someone you aren’t in order to steal their lives isn’t blatant, criminal dishonesty, I don’t know what is.”
The impact on victims includes a healthcare provider denying necessary prescriptions in Pennsylvania due to identity theft linked to fraudulent employment at Glenn Valley Foods. In Texas, a disabled individual struggled with Social Security disability payments because their identity was used unlawfully for wage earning at the same company.
Additionally, the IRS demanded a Colorado victim repay over $5,000 after an income increase was falsely reported through identity theft. A Missouri nursing student lost college tuition assistance due to fraudulent earnings reported under their name and faced issues renewing their driver’s license because of unpaid traffic violations linked to the alien using their identity.
In California, a victim has spent nearly 15 years attempting to reclaim their identity after it was used illegally for employment at Glenn Valley Foods.
“The criminals who stole these identities didn’t just break the law; they upended lives,” Zito concluded. “These victims aren’t faceless statistics; they’re real people who are being denied healthcare and have lost educational opportunities.”
The investigation continues. ICE encourages anyone with information about immigration violations or related crimes to contact them via the ICE Tip Line or submit information online.
For interviews, contact Public Affairs Officer Tanya Roman at Tanya.Roman@hsi.dhs.gov.
