Man pleads guilty to illegally employing and exploiting workers

ROME, Ga. (AP) — Federal prosecutors said a Mexican man living in Georgia has admitted to employing and exploiting people who were living in the United States illegally.

Juan Antonio Perez came to the United States illegally in 1992 and has operated Aztec Framing since at least 2009.

Prosecutors said he hired people living in the U.S. illegally, paying them below-market rates with no benefits or insurance and didn’t pay payroll taxes or Social Security.

He pleaded guilty Wednesday to harboring people in the country illegally for financial gain. His sentencing is set for Oct. 5.