Pork Processor to Pay $1M for Undocumented Workers

The company hired workers who were in the U.S. illegally.

Ice Police 5b9288375ade5

GUYMON, Okla. (AP) — The operator of a pork processing plant in the Oklahoma Panhandle will pay $1 million to settle allegations that it hired workers who were in the U.S. illegally.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Seaboard Corporation reached the settlement Nov. 1. Funds will be divided between ICE and the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office.

ICE says Seaboard allegedly employed unauthorized workers between 2007 and 2012 and didn't complete employment eligibility forms. In addition, ICE says health care claims by some Seaboard employees enrolled in a private health insurance plan provided by Seaboard were allegedly submitted to Oklahoma's Medicaid Program during the same period.

Seaboard, based in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, did not reply to telephone and email requests for comment Thursday.

ICE says Seaboard cooperated during the investigation and implemented compliance measures.

More