BISMARCK — A Mexican restaurant owner in Fargo will avoid jail time after admitting to hiring two immigrants who were in the U.S. illegally and paying them off the books.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland handed down a two-year probation sentence Monday, Feb. 10, in a Bismarck federal courtroom to Jose Ramon Gutierrez, owner of Mango’s Mexican and American Grill at 2901 Main Ave. in Fargo. He pleaded guilty to harboring illegal aliens, a crime that carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.

The sentence was a joint recommendation by the defense and prosecution as part of a plea agreement filed Oct. 21.

According to court documents:

From May 1, 2018, to Jan. 31, 2019, Gutierrez harbored two citizens of Mexico who were in the U.S. illegally. He employed the two, who were identified in court documents by initials, as cooks at Mango’s.

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“In doing so, he paid them in cash and kept them off of the restaurant’s payroll so that they were unaccounted for in relation to obligations such as workers compensation insurance premiums, applicable state and federal employment taxes, and overtime compensation,” prosecutors said in court documents. “This off-the-books employment afforded the defendant a commercial advantage and resulted in his private financial gain.”