Alleged Key West immigration fraudster pleas to $7.9 million scheme

Nov. 22 (UPI) -- A former Key West, Fla., man accused of committing immigration fraud pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges Tuesday.

The Justice Department alleges Oleksandr Morgunov was involved with several staffing agencies in the area which employed migrants who were not legally permitted to work in the United States. Documents collected from 2016 to 2021 outline the immigration conspiracy. Workers were placed in hotels, bars and restaurants throughout and beyond Key West.

According to the documents, Morgunov helped operate Paradise Choice LLC, Paradise Choice Cleaning LLC, Tropical City Services LLC and Tropical City Group LLC, which placed workers illegally while not paying into Social Security, Medicare and income taxes.

The conspiracy defrauded the IRS out of more than $7.9 million in employment taxes, the Justice Department said in a news release.

In August, a manager from these same staffing companies was sentenced for tax crimes and immigration fraud. Volodymyr Ogorodnychuk of Key West admitted that he, along with his co-conspirators, defrauded the IRS out of more than $3.5 million.

Ogorodnychuk was sentenced to 48 months in prison and three years under supervised release.

Morgunov is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 31, 2023. The maximum sentence he faces is 10 years in prison.

Last year, Morgunov, Ogorodnychuk and another man, Mykhaylo Chugay, were indicted for immigration fraud and money laundering. According to the indictment, the three men were owners and operators of the staffing companies. The charge of money laundering carries a 20 year maximum prison sentence.