Gwinnett Daily Post

ATLANTA -- A Suwanee man and two co-conspirators were sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for evading taxes and hiring undocumented workers for their wholesale meat business.

Rafael Villarreal Sr., 42, of Suwanee was sentenced to five years in prison and will be deported after serving his term. Co-defendants Rhett and Marcus Maughon, both of Decatur, were sentenced to five years and three years in prison, respectively, as well as 100 hours of community service.

According to information presented in court, the three men ran wholesale meat supplier Atlanta Meat Company from 2001 to 2006, receiving some payments from clients in cash. In turn, all of this cash was not reported and some employees were paid partially or entirely with cash.

The company underpaid its employee withholding taxes and filed fraudulent returns. Many employees paid via cash were illegal immigrants "not authorized to work in this country," officials said.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Labor.