North Texas man convicted of visa fraud and harboring illegal aliens

SHERMAN, Texas – A jury has found a 49-year-old Lavon, Texas man guilty of federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.

David Allen Anderton was found guilty by a jury on multiple counts of harboring illegal aliens, conspiracy, and visa fraud on Dec. 15, 2016, following a seven-day trial before U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant.

According to information presented in court, Anderton, through his commercial landscaping company, A&A Landscape and Irrigation, abused the Department of State’s work visa system bringing Mexican workers into the U.S. underpaying them and housing them in dangerous conditions.  Anderton was indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 9, 2016. 

"Today's conviction affirms that David Anderton failed to pay prevailing wages and overtime to his H2B workers, and pocketed the money that rightfully belonged to his employees. The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate crimes that abuse Department of Labor programs and have a detrimental effect on workers," said Steven Grell, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Dallas Regional Office.

Under federal statutes, Anderton faces up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing and will forfeit nearly $2 million in property used in the commission of his crimes.  The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress and is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.  A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and Homeland Security Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andy Williams and Tom Gibson.