Agriprocessors Ignored Government Warnings for Years

Social Security Administration Compliance Letters Ceased After 2006

The politically connected meatpacking company where almost 400 undocumented workers were arrested earlier this month ignored repeated government warnings about the use of false identification papers amongst its employees, according to a federal immigration investigator.

Immigration agent David Hoagland reported in a sworn affidavit filed before the May 12 raid in Postville that Agriprocessors Inc., the kosher food supplier owned by FNTK Ryboshkim, received a dozen letters from the Social Security Administration in 2005 and 2006.

The letters stated that up to 78 percent of the businesses’ workforce provided Social Security information that did not match with government records. In all, the letters detailed more than 3,000 discrepancies from tax years 2000 to 2005. In some instances, the name the Social Security Administration (SSA) had assigned to a specific number differed from the name reported by Agriprocessors on wage and tax statements. In other instances, the number provided by Agriprocessors had never been assigned to an individual.

“Agriprocessors has repeatedly been made aware that large numbers of its employees were using Social Security numbers that have discrepancies for each tax year from 2000 to 2005,” Hoagland stated, adding there is “probable cause” to believe most its employees used fraudulent documents.

The letters ceased in 2007, according to Hoagland. Asked why such letters would not be sent, John Garlinger, regional communications director for the SSA, said by telephone on Friday that he could not immediately provide an answer.

While 302 of 389 workers arrested at the plant, most of them from Guatemala or Mexico, have pled guilty to criminal or immigration violations, no one from the company has been charged.

Jim Fallon, spokesman for Agriprocessors, did not return a request for comment. The firm announced Friday that its chief executive officer, Sholom Rubashkin, will be replaced.

An official at the Iowa Labor Commission has confirmed that Agriprocessors was under investigation for possible child labor and wage law violations at the time of the raid. Federal officials will not comment on the possibility of an investigation into Agriprocessors, but one local immigrants rights advocate said Friday that he has received a grand jury summons related to the company.

The community of Postville is divided into both the 1st and 4th Congressional Districts. Bruce Braley, a Democrat who represents Iowa’s 1st District, has called for an investigation of Agriprocessors. Tom Latham, a Republican who represents Iowa’s 4th District, stated Friday that he believes that “all entities who violate the law are culpable.”

The firm is led by the Aaron Rubashkin family, a New York City butcher who revolutionized the kosher food industry in the late 1980s by introducing mass production techniques. The Rubashkin family gave nearly $6,000 to the Republican Party of Iowa from 2002 to 2004, and has given roughly $65,000 to other Republican candidates, current elected officials and Republican Party committees since 2000.

The Rubashkin family also gave a $3,000 campaign contribution to Gov. Chet Culver during his gubernatorial bid and $5,000 to Lt. Gov. Patty Judge’s gubernatorial bid before she merged her campaign with Culver’s. Judge, who has been named by Culver to lead a task force in relation to Postville in the raid aftermath, also received $5,000 from the Rubashkin family in 2005 when she served as secretary of agriculture.

On Friday, the Jewish Labor Committee called on Agriprocessors to “live up to the responsibilities of corporate citizenship,” and urged consumers of kosher meat products to boycott the Rubashkin labels until that happens.

EDCOR letters have been routinely sent out by the Social Security Administration since 1994 to employers that reports more than 10 “no matches” that represent more than 0.5 percent of all wage and tax statements submitted. The notices advise the employer of the discrepancies and requests corrected information.