United States v. Tipton

The government (plaintiff) prosecuted Sadik Seferi and Nicole Tipton (defendants), who jointly ran a restaurant, for knowingly hiring and harboring six illegal aliens (two of them minors) and conspiring to do so. Seferi hired and supervised the aliens in the kitchen; their personnel files contained counterfeit identity documents; unlike other employees, they were hired without applications or interviews, paid below minimum wage in cash with no tax withholding, and Tipton leased and paid for their housing while Seferi drove them to and from work. The judge found both guilty and enhanced their sentences for involving six or more aliens and using minors in the offense. Both appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, and Tipton separately argued no evidence showed she affirmatively involved the minors.