Fresh Mark agrees to pay $3.7 million for offenses of Salem facility hiring manager

The Northern District of Ohio United States Attorney's Office issued a press release December 31 announcing that Fresh Mark, Inc. had entered into a non-prosecution agreement following an incident involving the hiring manager at the Salem facility. 

Under the terms of an agreement made with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Fresh Mark paid a $3,719,997 penalty. The money will go to the federal Crime Victims Fund.

Fresh Mark will also need to abide by compliance reporting requirements for two years.

Yelwin Munoz-Solis, 43, of Salem, OH was charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft, aggravated identity theft and making false statements on immigration forms submitted to Homeland Security Investigations. He would go on to plead guilty.

According to court documents, Munoz-Solis at the Salem facility had allegedly conspired with others to steal identities of U.S. Citizens and give them to applicants of the Fresh Mark's meat processing plants. 

Between 2013 and 2018, Homeland Security Investigation agents arrested multiple employees that used stolen identities to become employed with Fresh Mark.

Warrants were issued to facilities in Salem, Massillon and Canton in June of 2018, resulting in investigators detaining 146 individuals who were working in the United States without legal status.

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