Overview
- San Diego Powder & Protective Coatings and hiring manager Karli Buxton pleaded guilty in federal court to a misdemeanor pattern-or-practice offense involving unauthorized workers.
- The company agreed to forfeit $230,000 and will enroll in ICE’s IMAGE program and use E‑Verify for all new hires for the next two years.
- In their admissions, managers acknowledged recruiting workers without authorization, accepting fraudulent documents, keeping those workers off secure military sites, and allowing warehouse access to Navy-related components.
- Buxton admitted she knew some documents were fraudulent and, according to the court docket, received two years of unsupervised probation; operations manager John Washburn pleaded guilty in June and was sentenced to one year of probation and 50 hours of community service.
- The case stemmed from an HSI undercover hire using fake credentials and a March 27 worksite action that detained numerous individuals, and it is part of DOJ’s Operation Take Back America with HSI, NCIS and other agencies involved.