Olathe man sentenced for cashing millions in checks that paid undocumented workers

An Olathe man who cashed millions of dollars in checks to pay undocumented workers won’t spend any additional time in prison for his crimes.

Jose Torres-Garcia, 53, was sentenced Wednesday to the three years he’s already served for harboring or encouraging aliens to live unlawfully in the United States and for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said in a news release.

Torres-Garcia, who pleaded guilty to two criminal counts, admitted to cashing checks made out to “Jose R. Torres Drywall” and giving the money to construction crew leaders so they could pay themselves and their workers for installing drywall. Torres-Garcia, however, wasn’t in the drywall business and the workers weren’t living and working in the country legally.

Around $14 million passed through Torres-Garcia’s bank account over a two-year period, Beall said. He ran an Olathe-based phone business called Boost Mobile at the time.

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Olathe man sentenced for cashing millions in checks that paid undocumented workers."