NEW: Restaurant Owners Face Federal Charges For Hiring Illegal Aliens

The owners and operations of an Alabama-based restaurant chain are facing federal charges for allegedly displaying a pattern of hiring illegal aliens in multiple states.

Last week, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and other law enforcement agencies executed federal search warrants at five Colt Grill BBQ & Spirits locations and 12 residencies in Alabama and Arizona. The raids followed a three-year labor exploitation investigation, which yielded a five-count federal indictment against four individuals in Arizona.

On May 27, 2025, a grand jury in Phoenix returned an indictment against Robert and Brenda Clouston, both 61, of northern Arizona, and Luis Pedro Rogel-Jaimes, age 33, and Iris Romero-Molina, age 29, both Mexican nationals illegally present in the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced in a press release.

Charges include Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens, Conspiracy to Harbor Illegal Aliens, Conspiracy to Encourage and Induce an Alien to Unlawfully Enter the United States, and Pattern and Practice of Knowingly Employing Unauthorized Aliens.

The indictment alleges that Robert and Brenda Clouston operated four Colt Grill restaurants in the northern Arizona cities of Cottonwood, Prescott, Prescott Valley, and Sedona, and one Colt Grill in Foley, Alabama. In September of 2022, the Cloustons, along with Rogel-Jaimes and Romero-Molina, allegedly hatched a plan in which Romero-Molina would create a cleaning business, R&R AZ Cleaning, that would covertly operate as a staffing agency for the restaurants.

As part of the conspiracy, the two Mexican nationals would then seek out illegal aliens to work at the Colt Grill locations, prosecutors allege. The illegals were then paid below minimum wage and were not compensated for overtime under the front company.

Rogel-Jaimes, and Romero-Molina are further accused of benefitting financially from the scheme by failing to pay proper employment taxes for the illegal alien workforce.

All four individuals named in the indictment were arrested on July 15 without incident. While executing the search warrants, federal authorities also apprehended several undocumented illegal aliens for criminal or administrative immigration violations.

“Cooperation is the cornerstone for law enforcement in Arizona and this case demonstrates the great outcome that comes from federal and local law enforcement working together,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Timothy Courchaine. “The United States Attorney’s Office is grateful to HSI for their hard work on this investigation and extremely appreciative to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office for their support and willingness to keep their community safe from bad actors.”

Ray Rede, acting special agent in charge for HSI Arizona, thanked the various agencies who assisted DHS in executing the operation. “This multiyear case involving several federal charges is a testament of our commitment to combatting crime that has true impact to communities. I thank everyone involved – this case was true team effort,” he said.

Four of the charges carry a maximum prison term of up to 10 years, while the charge of Pattern and Practice of Knowingly Employing Unauthorized Aliens carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and up to a $3,000 fine per unauthorized employee.

The raids were conducted as part of Operation Take Back America, which has been described by the DOJ as “a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”