The director of a Pennsylvania recruitment firm has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison after pleading guilty to supplying illegal foreign workers to clients, who were given wages under the table without payments for various tax and insurance schemes made.

Ethan Nguyen, who operated Four Seasons Services, was also order to pay $45,128 (£30,288) in restitution to the Pennsylvania Department of Unemployment Insurance and a $300 fine. The punishment handed down by the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania also includes two years’ supervised release.

Two other workers at the recruitment firm, which was later re-branded to businesses named Direct Staffing Services, Express Staffing Services and First Choice Staffing, also pleaded guilty. Andri Gunawan will be sentenced on 19 March and Eleni Nguyen on 4 April.

The investigation was conducted by numerous agencies, namely the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General – Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; the Pennsylvania State Police; and the US Department of Health and Human Services.

• Last month, a court in Swindon, UK saw 15 farmers from across England admitting to using between one and five skilled Filipino herdsmen supplied by unlicensed labour provider Marden Management. Although the farmers received no punishment, Marden boss Christopher Blakeney will be sentenced in April.