Feds say Mexican restaurant in Old Town Wichita was hiring immigrant workers illegally
A Mexican restaurant in Old Town Wichita is among several involved in federal charges that allege a group of restaurant operators knowingly hired workers who apparently lived in the country illegally while not paying proper taxes, overtime wages and worker’s compensation for the employees.
In June 2019, Homeland Security Investigations inspected 10 restaurants, including Playa Azul in Wichita, 111 N. Washington. Investigators found that the restaurant employed people who were not authorized to work in the U.S., according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Eagle could not reach the owner of Playa Azul in Wichita Thursday afternoon.
Jose Luis Bravo, 51, a U.S. citizen living in Oklahoma, is among the 19 people charged and is identified as the leader of the multi-state enterprise. Prosecutors allege that Bravo and others created a network of restaurants operating under different business filings in states throughout the Midwest.
According to the federal charges, 17 of the 19 defendants took part in an organized criminal operation from July 2003 until this month that smuggled people from Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador who did not have documentation to work in the U.S, keeping them in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Bravo and others allegedly supplied their restaurants with staff by these means.
In addition to smuggling these workers without proper authorization, the charges allege those involved took part in racketeering activity including fraud (in connection with identification documents), fraud and misuse of visas and other documents and money laundering.
Federal investigators also examined nine other restaurants in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. Around 68% of the employees that the government audited at that time did not have proper documentation to work in the U.S.
In September 2019, they examined another nine restaurants in Missouri and Kansas that were affiliated with the defendants. The Kansas restaurants inspected at that time include El Charro in Pittsburg, Maria’s Mexican Grill in Great Bend and Playa Azul in Augusta.
The federal investigators found that they all employed workers without proper U.S. work authorization.
The Eagle reached the owner of the Playa Azul location in Augusta, Fernando Aguirre, by phone Thursday. Aguirre said he purchased the business last summer and was not made aware of any prior visits from federal investigators, or issues concerning work authorization, before he bought the restaurant. (Aguirre is not named or charged in the indictment.)
“I didn’t move from Ohio to come to a business I knew was either in decline or had legal problems,” Aguirre said.
All of the employees currently at Playa Azul in Augusta are legally authorized to work in the U.S., he said. All existing staff were hired on by him, and none of the employees from before his time remain.
“There’s a process for hiring, and that’s what I did,” Aguirre said. “That’s what I’m doing right now. I’m trying to stay afloat with the economy as it is.”
The immigration investigation began when the Kansas Department of Labor contacted federal criminal investigators about allegations that workers at Bravos Mexican Grill in Overland Park were not authorized to work in the country. The federal inquiry began in July 2018 in Overland Park and moved on to inspect other restaurants affiliated with the same operators.
Bravo owns Specialty Food Distribution in Joplin, Missouri. He also owns a group of restaurants registered as Bravos Group, including El Charro, El Charrito, Playa Azul, Itza, Cantina Bravo and El Chango, according to the news release.
Specialty Food Distribution distributes food, supplies and equipment and provides administrative and accounting support to restaurants, including for payroll.
Managers of the various Mexican restaurants, and executives with Specialty Food Distribution, were among those charged.
No Wichita residents were listed among those charged. The Kansas residents charged include:
- Rodrigo Manrique Razo, 38, a U.S. citizen living in Great Bend
- Alejandro Castillo-Ramirez, 39, a citizen of Mexico residing in Augusta
- Veronica Razo De Lara, 46, a U.S. citizen living in Great Bend
Associates of the criminal enterprise supposedly protected employees from immigration authorities by disposing of employment records, paying workers by personal check and cash, failing to maintain accurate Forms I-9 and required wage and hour reports, helping them to obtain false documents like Social Security numbers and more.
At least 31 limited liability companies operated 45 Mexican restaurants in multiple states, according to the federal charges. Investigators found that at least 11 more companies were involved in restaurant supply and logistics, real estate and construction.
These 45 restaurants — including Playa Azul in Wichita — received goods and services from Specialty Food Distribution. After investigators began federal inspections at some restaurants, leaders of the enterprise formed a new company to hide the level of connection in the restaurants from the criminal associates, according to the news release.
Bravo was involved every step of the way, according to the indictment. He allegedly helped immigrants retrieve fraudulent documents, and found transportation and lodging for them while they traveled to the restaurants at which they ended up working.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 1:03 PM.
