Agriprocessors’ Operations Manager Pleads Guilty to Document Fraud Conspiracy
Guilty Plea Follows Last Week’s Sentencing of Human Resources Manager and Assistant

A top manger at Agriprocessors who participated in a conspiracy to obtain fake documents for workers pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Brent Beebe, age 52, from Postville, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit document fraud. Beebe had been scheduled for trial on January 19, 2010.

In a plea agreement, Beebe admitted he was one of two operations managers at Agriprocessors, Inc., in Postville and oversaw the beef-side production at the facility. The week prior to a May 12, 2008, immigration enforcement action, Beebe conspired with an Agriprocessors vice-president and others to help several employees obtain new fake identification documents. Beebe obtained $4,500 in cash from the Agriprocessors vice-president to be loaned to approximately 19 beef production employees to pay for new fake documents. A line supervisor used the money to obtain fake documents and then delivered the fake documents to Agriprocessors on Sunday, May 11, 2008. The documents were then used to complete new application paperwork for several employees.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Beebe remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Beebe faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

On Thursday, January 7, 2010, Chief Judge Reade sentenced two former Agriprocessors human resources employees. Former Agriprocessors human resources manager Elizabeth Billmeyer was sentenced to one year and one day imprisonment to be followed by two years’ supervised release. Former Agriprocessors human resources assistant Penny Hanson was sentenced to two years’ probation.

Only two defendants in the case remain to be prosecuted—Hosam Amara and Zeev Levi, who are fugitives. The investigation began in October 2007, and has continued since the execution of search warrants at Agriprocessors on May 12, 2008. The investigation is ongoing.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Deegan, C.J. Williams, and Matthew Cole, and the investigation has been led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prior assistance was provided by the United States Marshals Service, United States Postal Inspections Service, Iowa Department of Public Safety, Iowa Department of Transportation, Federal Protective Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, United States Department of Labor, Public Health Service, United States Department of Agriculture, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Drug Enforcement Administration, Waterloo Police Department, and Postville Police Department.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 08-1324.