A two-year investigation into immigrants with fake identity documents led to federal officials detaining 48 workers at a South Carolina metal casting business and six people facing state charges, including two top managers at the plant, authorities announced Thursday.
Dozens of officials with federal and local law enforcement agencies raided Burnstein von Seelen Precision Castings in Abbeville on Wednesday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took the workers into custody on alleged immigration violations, and the company’s plant manager and human resources director were arrested on allegations they knowingly hired immigrants in the US illegally, state Attorney General Alan Wilson said at a news conference.
The company officials were indicted by a state grand jury, along with four other people accused of making and selling false US and state identifications using information from identity thefts.
“We want to send a message that this isn’t about going after people who are trying to feed their family,” Wilson said. “This isn’t going after companies or businesses who unknowingly hiring illegal. This is about going after something much larger, you know, a conspiracy of people around South Carolina to steal identities, to create fake Social Security cards, fake driver’s license, fake immigration documents.”
Officials at Burnstein von Seelen did not immediately return messages left by phone and through its website,
The two company managers were expected to appear at the Richland County Courthouse in Columbia on Thursday to face charges of criminal conspiracy and identity fraud to obtain employment. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers who could respond to the allegations. --->READ MORE HERE
Two managers and 48 employees were detained by ICE for immigration violations at a business in South Carolina on Wednesday, according to the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.
The arrests were made at Burnstein Von Seelen Precision Casting in Abbeville, officials announced Thursday morning.
A viewer shared the picture below of what it looked like outside the business on Wednesday afternoon.
State officials said an investigation, dubbed 'Ghost Story,' began in the fall of 2024.
They said a "multi-jurisdictional law enforcement operation" at the business on Wednesday led to two managers being arrested on state grand jury charges, and 48 workers being detained by ICE for immigration violations.
“If you are unlawfully aiding illegal immigrants in South Carolina, you are going to be investigated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Attorney General Alan Wilson said. “If you are taking advantage of hard-working Americans, stealing their identities, and are intentionally ignoring your responsibilities as an employer in an effort to circumvent the law, we are coming for you," he added. “These crimes are not only stealing jobs from American employees but also pose a serious risk to national security. When criminals make it easy for illegal aliens to get fake identification documents, we don’t know who is working in our country, and in this operation, specifically, our national security and manufacturing sectors.”
Wilson said that these indictments reflect "the extensive problem of how easily illegal immigrants in South Carolina can get fake US and state identification from 'document vendors' throughout the state."
He added that it reflects allegations that a business in South Carolina knowingly facilitated the use of fraudulent identification by illegal immigrants they employed.
Wilson said the indictments say that two managers of Burnstein Von Seelen Precision Casting, Christopher Douglas Ramey and Sandy Lynn Willis, violated their legal obligations to verify the legitimacy of IDs before hiring employees, and facilitated the use of forged identity documents by illegal immigrants at the business. --->READ MORE HERE
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