Three individuals have been arrested and three others charged in a criminal indictment regarding an alleged nationwide employee-leasing conspiracy that used hundreds of undocumented aliens at farms, dairies and factories in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice announced last week.

The individuals arrested were Jaroslaw Sawczuk, a 37-year-old Polish citizen formerly of Coral Springs, Florida; Jozef Bronislaw Bogacki, a 42-year-old native of Poland and naturalized U.S. citizen residing in Clearwater, Florida; and Pavel Preus, a 38-year-old Polish citizen residing in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Also charged in an indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Jan. 13, 2005, were were Lucia Kanis, a 30-year-old Slovak citizen; Ivan Kanis, a 38-year-old Slovak citizen residing in the Slovak Republic; and Andor Pikali, a 36-year-old Slovak citizen residing in Coral Springs, Florida.

The 26-count indictment alleges that from 1995 to the present, the defendants conspired to provide unauthorized workers, mostly East Europeans who had entered the United States on tourist visas, to American companies with whom the defendants had contracted to provide legally authorized foreign workers. The indictment alleges that more than 550 illegal aliens were brought into the United States by the defendants.

According to the indictment, the alien workers obtained tourist visas to enter the United States and were employed illegally in the Midwest and Southeastern United States on farms, in dairies and in factories. The defendants allegedly contracted with American employers to provide workers, for whom the defendants were to pay payroll taxes and workers' compensation deductions. The indictment alleges that the defendants did not pay the taxes or workers' compensation deductions. The indictment alleges that during the course of the conspiracy, the defendants failed to pay $6 million in payroll taxes and laundered more than $20 million.

Charges against the defendants include conspiracies to commit visa fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud, money laundering, and tax fraud. If convicted, the defendants face maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000. In addition, the government is seeking forfeiture of the defendants' assets.