Working without a visa?
An FBI raid at an office of Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd. on the U.S.-controlled island of Saipan last month was prompted by the death of a construction worker, reports Bloomberg News.
The laborer, who died at the site of the Imperial Pacific resort now under construction in Garapan, may have been working without a visa.
“The FBI conducted a search and made an arrest in response to the recent death of an individual working at the construction site of the Imperial Pacific Resort,” Michele Ernst, a spokeswoman in the FBI’s Honolulu office, said in an email to the news outlet. “The investigation is related to allegations of a federal violation of the workplace visa system, including reports the company was systematically harboring individuals who are out of status and in violation of federal statutes.”
On March 30, FBI agents and local law enforcement on Thursday visited an office used by Imperial Pacific, stayed for several hours and barred access to the building.
Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific, which has been under scrutiny because of massive profits at its small, temporary casino, announced in a filing that the FBI investigation “is not related to the group and its employees.”
On March 23, the unnamed 43-year-old Chinese national reportedly fell to his death from a scaffold on the nearby site of the company’s permanent casino resort. The FBI “routinely partners with federal agencies when there are reports of widespread and systematic human trafficking within the labor sector,” Ernst said.
In related news, Imperial Pacifichas reached a settlement agreement withits former vice president of table games. Danny Ewing filed a $75,000 lawsuit in federal court alleging wrongful termination, wrongful failure to hire and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Ewing was fired last August.
Meanwhile, the grand opening of the company’s $550 million permanent resort is drawing near.
“We’re excited about getting this started and welcoming our guests at the front door,” Scott Morrow, casino table games director said last week. The casino has 72 tables and 198 slot machines; the temporary facility, known as Best Sunshine Live, had only 16 table.
