A South Setauket man who pleaded guilty in 2014 to wire fraud and concealing and harboring illegal immigrants employed at multiple 7-Eleven francise stores, including the Cutchogue and Greenport locations, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, the U.S. attorney’s office announced this afternoon.
Malik Yousaf, 55, was one of nine people indicted in a scheme involving identity theft and illegal immigration that led to the June 2013 seizure of 10 7-Eleven franchises on Long Island, including the ones in Cutchogue and Greenport.
Yousaf acted as the chief manager of five 7-Eleven franchise stores, hired dozens of illegal immigrants, equipped them with more than 20 identities stolen from United States citizens, housed them at residences owned by his coconspirators, and stole substantial portions of his workers’ wages, according to federal prosecutors. During the scheme, the defendant generated over $182 million in proceeds from the 7-Eleven franchise stores, prosecutors said.
In addition to the sentence of imprisonment, the court entered an order forfeiting the defendant’s rights to eight 7-Eleven stores in New York and 10 7-Eleven stores in Virginia, as well as a Long Island residence worth over $150,000. The court also ordered the defendant to pay $2.5 million in restitution for the back wages that he stole from his workers.