The owners of a Wheaton chicken restaurant and several of their family members were arrested Thursday on a host of charges, including employing and harboring illegal aliens, money laundering and structuring bank deposits to avoid reporting requirements.
Francisco Carlos Solano, 55, and his wife, Ines Solano, 59, both of Germantown; Consuelo Solano, 69, of Arlington, Va., and Juan Faustino Solano, 57, of Kensington could each face 40 years in prison if convicted on all charges, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Maryland.
Francisco Solano and his sister, Consuelo, own El Pollo Rico Restaurant on Ennalls Avenue in Wheaton. Federal investigators allege they employed undocumented workers, paying them in cash until the employees gained temporary legal status. The workers were housed in Kensington and Wheaton in residences owned by Francisco Solano, the release said.
During an initial appearance Monday before a U.S. District Court Judge, Francisco and Ines Solano were read their charges and told to post bond of $500,000 each, which they did through the property value of several houses they owned in Wheaton.
Consuelo Solano and Juan Faustino Solano also had to post a $500,000 bond each. The Solanos, who are all U.S. citizens, had their passports taken by the court. All of the defendants were released on personal recognizance.
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted a raid, made several arrests and seized money and property Thursday at the restaurant in Wheaton and several homes in Wheaton, Kensington and Germantown owned by the Solano family. Police arrested Francisco and Ines Solano in Las Vegas the same day.
According to a 58-page affidavit, during more than a four-year period, more than 800 deposits totaling more than $6.6 million were deposited into a business account using a structured system to ensure that less than $10,000 was deposited each time. Checks were written from the business account to the individual accounts of those charged. The money was used to buy residences, vehicles and insurance policies, the release said.
Banks are required by law to report cash deposits of more than $10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service on Currency Transaction Reports. Such reports are often used by law enforcement to investigate possible illegal activities such as money laundering.
About $3 million in cash also was seized from the Solanos’ homes, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney David I. Salem.
At a break during the initial appearance in court on Monday, Salem said the family could continue to operate the business if it was done legally; however, the family and their attorney Gustavo Matheus would not comment on that possibility.
An additional nine employees of the restaurant, who were in the country illegally, also were arrested Thursday, according to Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who said the agency has initiated proceedings to remove them from the country.
The nine employees, all from Guatamala, have been charged with entering and working in the United States without proper documentation.
Fobbs said she did not know specifics about the employees or if they had families in the United States. She said at this time the investigation was only focusing on those employees, but that she couldn’t say unequivocally that the investigation wouldn’t lead to other arrests.
Montgomery County Police were on the scene Thursday while the arrests and search of the business and homes were taking place, but they only played a minor role in the criminal investigation against the business owners, said Lucille Baur, a spokeswoman for Montgomery County Police.
According to the affidavit, county police aided Immigration and Customs Enforcement in identifying several employees who worked at El Pollo Rico and lived in homes owned by the Solanos.
Ray Fleming, manager at Ranger Surplus Plus Inc., just a few doors down from El Pollo Rico, said he saw a number of ICE police and about 100 people gather around the area when the arrests were made Thursday.
‘‘I mean if they were doing illegal things and it [is proven] in court, then I think it was justified,” Fleming said about the raid.
Fleming said he was a frequent customer of El Pollo Rico and thought the people running the business and employed at the restaurant were ‘‘good people.”
‘‘I’ve watched them grow exponentially,” he said.
Jeanne Niyigena, a Glenmont resident who had been to El Pollo Rico in the past, said she was concerned that immigration officials were arresting business owners and employees.
‘‘It worries me because there are so many people who are illegal and need a safe place to stay, which is America,” Niyigena said.
Jorge Restrepo, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Montgomery County, said he was unaware of the specifics of the case, but that the chamber encourages all businesses to abide by the law.
‘‘We have been advocating for reform in immigration law because we feel that it is not in line with the realities of business and the community and the country,” he said. ‘‘But that does not mean ... we advocate to ignore the laws.”
