A Wichita company pleaded guilty to an immigration charge after a federal investigation showed that the manager of one of its McDonald’s restaurants in Wichita was an undocumented worker who provided identification documents the company knew were false.

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says five of the company’s six managers were in the country illegally.

 

McCalla Corporation, a McDonald’s franchisee operates six restaurants in Wichita, pleaded guilty to one felony count of knowingly accepting a fraudulent identification document offered as proof that an employee was eligible to work.

As part of the plea agreement, the corporation agreed to pay a $300,000 fine, and an additional $100,000 forfeiture judgment.

The case is the second time this year that a Kansas company has been charged with knowingly employing undocumented workers. In the other case, the owners of two hotels in Overland Park, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., were charged with knowingly hiring undocumented workers for housekeeping jobs.

According to court records, investigators learned that five of the six McCalla Corporation McDonald’s store managers were unlawfully in the United States at the time they were employed, as were many other employees.

“Any attempt to minimize or excuse this kind of conduct is unacceptable,” Grissom said. “We know these practices are widespread, and investigations similar to the McCalla case are under way.”