A 36-year-old man has been arrested and charged after search warrants were issued at multiple Zipps restaurants across the Valley on Monday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said on Thursday that the arrests come after a year-long investigation into unlawful employment, identify theft and document fraud.
The man faces charges including:
- "Complaint with pattern and practice of knowingly employing unauthorized aliens"
- "knowingly making false attestation on a Form I-9"
- "knowingly transferring means of identification without authority"
- "aggravated identity theft"
Officials say the individual arrested was responsible for hiring kitchen staff for all Zipps locations in Arizona. He allegedly recruited and hired individual who had entered the country illegally at multiple locations, "using fraudulent identification documents to verify their eligibility to work via the E-Verify online employment verification system."
Three employees were charged in criminal complaints for "lying when filling out the Form I-9, stating they were U.S. citizens and using false identification and social security numbers."
According to officials, Homeland Security Investigations served 14 Zipps locations and the business' corporate headquarters with a notice of inspection requiring the company to produce their I-9 forms, after receiveing information alleging that employees may have been using fraudulent identification documents to verify their eligibility to work.
"A review of employee wages identified 76 employees who had suspicious patterns of employment, showing between three and 42 active employers other than Zipps Sports Grill during the second quarter of 2025," a release said.
They reportedly certified themselves as U.S. citizens, which did not require them to fill out a I-9 form and a review showed that that had earned "extremely high wages" consistent with aggravated assault, a release stated.
Officials say the man knowingly employed people who had entered the country illegally and assisted individuals who were U.S. citizens and used other individual's name and identification to complete the forms of employment.
The investigation remains ongoing.
