Bartow Man Admits Harboring 'Illegal Aliens' For Financial Gain

GEORGIA — A Mexican national who built his Bartow County business on the backs of workers living illegally in America pleaded guilty Wednesday to harboring illegal aliens for financial gain, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

As detailed in court documents, Juan Antonio Perez, 48, of Rydal entered the United States illegally in 1992 and had operated Aztec Framing since at least 2009, with offices in Cartersville, Rossville and Hixson, Tennessee. During that time, the statement continues, “Perez employed illegal aliens at below-market rates, provided no benefits or insurance, and did not pay payroll taxes or Social Security.”

Meanwhile, Perez built a 7,500-square-foot house, bought other houses where he allowed some of his employees to live, and purchased more than 30 sports cars and heavily customized trucks for his personal collection, the statement continued — all without reporting any income to the Georgia Department of Labor.

Perez also collected firearms, and according to court documents agents found 14 of them when his Bartow County home was searched in 2019.

“The old saying that crime doesn’t pay couldn’t be truer than in this instance. Perez thought his scheme to exploit desperate people looking for work and a better life would go unnoticed, but he was wrong and will now be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations operations in Georgia and Alabama.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security and the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force, with assistance from the FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, and the Polk County Drug Task Force.

Sentencing for Perez is scheduled for Oct. 5.

Read the statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.