ANTHEM, AZ – A Valley man who became the first business owner in Arizona to be criminally charged in an employer sanctions case has now been sentenced for ID theft.
Raphael Libardi, originally from Brazil, was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of taking the identity of another.
Libardi, 48, apparently started using the social security number of an elderly man as early as 2002 to establish his granite business, buy a $500,000 home in Anthem, and two vehicles.
The victim had passed away in December, 2008 and the victim's daughter assisted in the investigation.
Libardi was arrested in July 2009 following a joint employer sanctions investigation by the Sheriff's Office and County Attorney's Office.
Officials say Libardi was in the U.S. illegally.
MCSO investigated Libardi based on information received through Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Illegal Immigration Hotline.
On June 30, deputies conducted search warrants at Aracruz International Granite, located at 2310 W. Sherman Street in Phoenix, as well as Libardi's home in Anthem.
Two of the suspect's children, Ive Libardi, 25, and Isac Libardi, 20, were also arrested at his business for suspicion of being in the country illegally, according to an MCSO press release.
Authorities said some of the 15 to 20 people who work at the business were in the country illegally.
No civil case had yet been brought against the business owned by Libardi -- or any other business in Arizona -- under the state's 18-month-old civil law prohibiting businesses from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. Still, authorities say they were investigating Libardi's business for possible employer sanction violations.
"We are making steady progress, and we are moving up the corporate ladder," said Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, whose office is prosecuting Libardi.
Thomas said authorities in Maricopa County were investigating 20 other businesses for possible employer sanctions violations.
A business found to have violated the civil law could face the suspension or revocation of their licenses to operate in the state.
