WATERLOO (AP) — Two Waterloo residents have pleaded not guilty to charges that they harbored people living in the country illegally.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier says 30-year-old Yu Jiang and his wife, 28-year-old Wen “Christy” Xu, entered their pleas Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. An Oct. 28 trial date was set.
The two operate Hibachi Sushi Buffet in Waterloo. They were charged Aug. 12.
Federal authorities say the restaurant hired busboys, cooks and dishwashers using a Chicago referral agency that advertised in Chinese language newspapers. The workers were paid in cash. They lived at an apartment leased in Jiang’s name and were given rides to work.