Former Dunkin' franchisee sentenced for recruiting illegal aliensFormer Dunkin' franchisee sentenced for recruiting illegal aliens

NEW HAVEN Conn. Jose Calhelha, a former franchisee of 10 Dunkin' Donuts units in Connecticut, was sentenced to 10 months in jail and fined $1 million for illegally luring six Portuguese immigrants to this country and then employing them at his stores. Calhelha's daughter, Diana, was sentenced to one month of home confinement and 250 hours of community service after pleading guilty to one misdemeanor count of hiring undocumented workers.

Prosecutors charged Jose Calhelha with illegally recruiting workers from Portugal and then mistreating them. The illegal aliens were paid $250 for 85-to-90-hour work weeks without overtime. An investigation by Dunkin' revealed that many of Calhelha's workers were illegal, according to prosecutors, who also claimed he had falsified immigration forms and paid workers under false names.