A former Vice President of Operations for two airline mechanic staffing companies pleaded guilty Thursday to immigration fraud for employee applications.
Eleno Quinteros Jr., 45, a Chula Vista resident, was responsible for recruiting mechanics from Mexico and helping them obtain work visas in the U.S.
According to the indictment, Quinteros allegedly made demands for money from at least 85 mechanics and collected thousands of dollars in exchange for helping them obtain legal permanent residency.
Quinteros told many of the mechanics to deposit the money into his wife's bank account or give him blank money orders to avoid being detected.
He used a portion of the money to pay attorneys helping with applications and took the rest for himself.
On Thursday, Quinteros admitted that he falsely stated he received no payments from mechanics but had actually collected nearly $547,480 from them.
His sentencing is set for Nov. 6.
