New details have been released in a federal case against the owners of Colt Grill, a barbecue chain in northern Arizona. A federal grand jury has indicted four people, including the owners, following a yearslong investigation into illegal labor practices.
The investigation alleges the owners, along with two other individuals, knowingly hired undocumented workers at Colt Grill locations in Sedona, Prescott, Prescott Valley and Cottonwood.
Prosecutors say the workers were paid less than minimum wage and were not given overtime pay.
According to the indictment, the group created a fake cleaning company in 2022, and the company was used to recruit and pay undocumented workers off the books.
The workers were paid using money from the restaurants, but the payments were not reported properly, and taxes were not paid, the indictment said.
The indictment claims that between April and July 2022, one of the owners instructed managers at the Sedona location to fire U.S. citizen employees so undocumented Mexican nationals could be hired instead.
All four defendants were arrested earlier this week. They face five federal charges, including conspiracy to transport and harbor undocumented workers, and knowingly employing unauthorized people.
Each charge carries penalties of up to 10 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
The case is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a national push by the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration and criminal labor practices.
