Man forced unlawful migrants into Key West hospitality jobs, officials say

June 2 (UPI) -- A Florida man who owned several Key West hospitality staffing companies has been sentenced to two years, eight months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and harboring workers who entered the U.S. illegally.

The Department of Justice said in a statement Friday, "Batyr Myatiev owned and operated several Key West labor staffing companies, including Best Results Total Services Inc., Ameri Hosp LLC, and Golden Sands Management LLC, that facilitated the employment of non-resident aliens in hotels, bars, and restaurants operating in Key West and elsewhere who were not authorized to work in the United States. Myatiev encouraged workers to enter the United States illegally and induced them to remain in the country, in violation of immigration laws."

On top of the prison sentence, Myatiev must pay a $6,869,869.80 restitution to the U.S. government. He also will have to serve three years of supervised release.

While Myatiev's companies employed the illegal workers between November 2010 and October 2020, he paid them without withholding federal income tax and employment taxes from their wages, according to the Justice Department.

He did not report the wages to the IRS.

The IRS Criminal Investigation division and Homeland Security Investigations worked on the case.