Lotion merchants squeezed by immigration officials
By Alicia Ebaugh Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, December 22, 2005
Seven Israeli citizens who until recently hawked lotion and other beauty products from two Southern Hills Mall kiosks are now facing the squeeze from U.S. immigration officials.
Eial Lewin, 25, and Yoav Yalovizky, 24, the men formerly in charge of running the Spa to Go and Spa to Go II kiosks in the mall, each has been arrested on a felony charge of bringing in and harboring aliens, according to a complaint Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged earlier this month with the U.S. District Court for Northern Iowa.
Lewin, the kiosks' investor, as well as three of his workers were found to be violating their non-immigrant visitor visas by being employed in the United States. Yalovizky, the kiosks' manager, and two other workers had non-immigrant worker visas, but were only qualified to work in Stockton, Calif., as cashiers at a mall.
Yalovizky told officials he had paid Comet Management LLC, the Tempe, Ariz.,-based company in charge of Spa to Go kiosks' leases, to receive worker status.
"In doing so, Yalovizky has demonstrated a level of proficiency in immigration matters," the complaint said. "This clearly shows that Yalovizky knows that non-immigrant visitors ... with visitor visas cannot work in the United States."
Lewin had been living with Yalovizky and the other five workers in the Prestwick Apartments complex at 4230 Hickory Lane when they were taken into custody, according to Woodbury County Jail booking records. Immigration officials confirmed in the complaint that Lewin had rented two apartments under his name for all of them to live in, as well as a car and a minivan for use in their transportation.
The complaint said all products sold at the kiosks were stored either in the apartments, cars or in a storage unit at Southern Hills Self-Storage, 4711 Sergeant Road, where FedEx Freight deliveries were seen to be delivered.
The other five kiosk workers have also been arrested by ICE as material witnesses in the case. They are Gil Gutvirtz, 24; Gavriel Bernstein, 22; Inbal Levi, 21; Shira Stein, 21; and Ayelet Arazi, 23. All seven have been attending hearings this week.
The workers had been visible in the mall since the kiosks opened in mid-September, actively seeking out passers-by to try their lotion and other beauty products and aggressively trying to make a sale. Southern Hills Mall senior manager Bill Haase said the kiosks ran under the same rules as other stores in the mall, and that the mall has no part in the hiring policies of any store.
Although the Spa to Go kiosks and workers have been under surveillance by immigration officials since Sept. 29 according to the complaint, Haase said the mall had only become aware of the allegations a short time before they were shut down Dec. 9.
ICE spokesman Tom Counts said this situation isn't new. Many kiosks like these selling beauty products, toys and video games around the country -- including in Omaha and Des Moines -- have been shut down in the last few years after investigations into workers' visas. He said a kiosk operation was shut down in late 2004 at the Oakview Mall in Omaha and a Lincoln mall in which 10 Israelis were arrested and deported, and officials recovered more than $35,000 in cash from their manager, 27-year-old Ohad Cohen.
"There are other groups involved, but it seems to be primarily Israeli nationals," Counts said. "We believe involvement spreads by word of mouth, and it's popular in small groups in Israel."
In fact, a December 2001 article in The Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper, referred to this trend of visiting the United States to illegally make quick money as practically a "rite of passage" for young Israelis fresh out of their required army duty. Counts said more and more loosely organized illegal employment rings have been popping up, but sooner or later they are broken up by prosecution and deportation.
Comet Management officials declined to comment on the situation Wednesday. A woman believed to be a Comet Management manager denied involvement with the company in a phone call.
Counts said he would not comment on how the Southern Hills Mall investigation started, but a lead had tipped them off to the kiosk workers' status. On Dec. 7, 26 Spa to Go kiosk workers in Omaha and Des Moines were arrested for failure to maintain immigrant status.
On Dec. 9, ICE used a search warrant to gather evidence from the Sioux City workers' apartments and cars, as well as the kiosks and storage unit. The same day, the complaint said, a man named Roger from Comet Management called the Southern Hills Mall to cancel their kiosk lease agreements, saying they "found out their workers could only work in Arizona and California" and that they were "sending their workers back to Israel."
The complaint also said Lewin informed his apartment manager Dec. 9 that he would be vacating his apartment the next day, and the other by the middle of the next week. All seven Israelis were arrested Dec. 10. They are currently being held in the Woodbury County Jail.
Immigration workers found shredded business documents in Yalovizky's bedroom, as well as nearly $18,500 in cash. Lewin was found to have nearly $5,800 in his bedroom.
Yalovizky said in an interview included with the complaint that the workers were told by Comet Management not to go to work on Dec. 9, but would not say why. He also admitted to removing all the products from the kiosks after the mall closed that night.
Included in the complaint was another interview with Levi, one of the workers. She claimed all the workers were paid only on commission every two weeks with cash. Her hours were from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week, she said, and were scheduled by Lewin and Yalovizky.
Alicia Ebaugh can be reached at 712-293-4276 or at aliciaebaugh@siouxcityjournal.com
Eial Lewin, 25, and Yoav Yalovizky, 24, the men formerly in charge of running the Spa to Go and Spa to Go II kiosks in the mall, each has been arrested on a felony charge of bringing in and harboring aliens, according to a complaint Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged earlier this month with the U.S. District Court for Northern Iowa.
Lewin, the kiosks' investor, as well as three of his workers were found to be violating their non-immigrant visitor visas by being employed in the United States. Yalovizky, the kiosks' manager, and two other workers had non-immigrant worker visas, but were only qualified to work in Stockton, Calif., as cashiers at a mall.
Yalovizky told officials he had paid Comet Management LLC, the Tempe, Ariz.,-based company in charge of Spa to Go kiosks' leases, to receive worker status.
"In doing so, Yalovizky has demonstrated a level of proficiency in immigration matters," the complaint said. "This clearly shows that Yalovizky knows that non-immigrant visitors ... with visitor visas cannot work in the United States."
Lewin had been living with Yalovizky and the other five workers in the Prestwick Apartments complex at 4230 Hickory Lane when they were taken into custody, according to Woodbury County Jail booking records. Immigration officials confirmed in the complaint that Lewin had rented two apartments under his name for all of them to live in, as well as a car and a minivan for use in their transportation.
The complaint said all products sold at the kiosks were stored either in the apartments, cars or in a storage unit at Southern Hills Self-Storage, 4711 Sergeant Road, where FedEx Freight deliveries were seen to be delivered.
The other five kiosk workers have also been arrested by ICE as material witnesses in the case. They are Gil Gutvirtz, 24; Gavriel Bernstein, 22; Inbal Levi, 21; Shira Stein, 21; and Ayelet Arazi, 23. All seven have been attending hearings this week.
The workers had been visible in the mall since the kiosks opened in mid-September, actively seeking out passers-by to try their lotion and other beauty products and aggressively trying to make a sale. Southern Hills Mall senior manager Bill Haase said the kiosks ran under the same rules as other stores in the mall, and that the mall has no part in the hiring policies of any store.
Although the Spa to Go kiosks and workers have been under surveillance by immigration officials since Sept. 29 according to the complaint, Haase said the mall had only become aware of the allegations a short time before they were shut down Dec. 9.
ICE spokesman Tom Counts said this situation isn't new. Many kiosks like these selling beauty products, toys and video games around the country -- including in Omaha and Des Moines -- have been shut down in the last few years after investigations into workers' visas. He said a kiosk operation was shut down in late 2004 at the Oakview Mall in Omaha and a Lincoln mall in which 10 Israelis were arrested and deported, and officials recovered more than $35,000 in cash from their manager, 27-year-old Ohad Cohen.
"There are other groups involved, but it seems to be primarily Israeli nationals," Counts said. "We believe involvement spreads by word of mouth, and it's popular in small groups in Israel."
In fact, a December 2001 article in The Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper, referred to this trend of visiting the United States to illegally make quick money as practically a "rite of passage" for young Israelis fresh out of their required army duty. Counts said more and more loosely organized illegal employment rings have been popping up, but sooner or later they are broken up by prosecution and deportation.
Comet Management officials declined to comment on the situation Wednesday. A woman believed to be a Comet Management manager denied involvement with the company in a phone call.
Counts said he would not comment on how the Southern Hills Mall investigation started, but a lead had tipped them off to the kiosk workers' status. On Dec. 7, 26 Spa to Go kiosk workers in Omaha and Des Moines were arrested for failure to maintain immigrant status.
On Dec. 9, ICE used a search warrant to gather evidence from the Sioux City workers' apartments and cars, as well as the kiosks and storage unit. The same day, the complaint said, a man named Roger from Comet Management called the Southern Hills Mall to cancel their kiosk lease agreements, saying they "found out their workers could only work in Arizona and California" and that they were "sending their workers back to Israel."
The complaint also said Lewin informed his apartment manager Dec. 9 that he would be vacating his apartment the next day, and the other by the middle of the next week. All seven Israelis were arrested Dec. 10. They are currently being held in the Woodbury County Jail.
Immigration workers found shredded business documents in Yalovizky's bedroom, as well as nearly $18,500 in cash. Lewin was found to have nearly $5,800 in his bedroom.
Yalovizky said in an interview included with the complaint that the workers were told by Comet Management not to go to work on Dec. 9, but would not say why. He also admitted to removing all the products from the kiosks after the mall closed that night.
Included in the complaint was another interview with Levi, one of the workers. She claimed all the workers were paid only on commission every two weeks with cash. Her hours were from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week, she said, and were scheduled by Lewin and Yalovizky.
Alicia Ebaugh can be reached at 712-293-4276 or at aliciaebaugh@siouxcityjournal.com
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