Execution of federal search warrants at 14 Phoenix-area Zipps restaurants results in illegal employment and identity fraud charges

Date: Jan. 29, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Phoenix, AZ - Special Agents with the IRS-Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations executed federal search warrants at 14 Zipps restaurants in the Phoenix area, Monday, Jan. 26, after a year-long investigation into unlawful employment of aliens, identity theft, and document fraud.

As a result of the investigation, Diego Gonzalez-Rosales, a Mexican national illegally residing in the United States, was charged by criminal complaint with Pattern and Practice of Knowingly Employing Unauthorized Aliens, Knowingly Making False Attestations on a Form I-9, Knowingly Transferring Mean of Identification Without Authority, and Aggravated Identity Theft.

As the individual responsible for hiring kitchen staff for all Zipps locations in Arizona, Gonzalez-Rosales is alleged to have recruited and hired illegal aliens at multiple locations, using fraudulent identification documents to verify their eligibility to work via the E-Verify online employment verification system.

Employees Edwin Flores Rosales, Salvador Villenueva-Rosas, and Ludwin Benjamin Perez Velasco, all unlawfully present in the United States, have also been charged in criminal complaints for lying when filling out the Form I-9, stating they were U.S. citizens and using false identification and social security numbers.

In total, 39 individuals unlawfully present in the United States and working at Zipps were taken into custody during the operation.

According to the complaint and probable cause documents, in March 2025, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) served 14 Zipps locations, plus corporate headquarters, with a notice of inspection requiring the company to produce their Forms I-9, after receiving information alleging that employees may have been using fraudulent identification documents to verify their eligibility to work using the E-Verify system.

HSI later reviewed documents provided by the company that revealed alleged instances in which the name, social security number and date of birth on the forms were being misused to gain employment.

A review of employee wages identified 76 employees who had suspicious patterns of employment, showing between three and 42 active employers other than Zipps Sports Grill during the second quarter of 2025. These individuals certified themselves as U.S. citizens, which meant they were not required to list an Alien Registration Number on their Forms I-9, a form that verifies work eligibility of employees.

The review further showed multiple jobs and extremely high wages earned in the same quarter which is consistent with aggravated identity theft. In line with the patterns identified, Gonzalez-Rosales is alleged to have knowingly employed illegal aliens and assisted individuals in lying on their I-9 forms, claiming the individuals were U.S. citizens and using other individual's names and identification to complete the forms for employment.

HSI Arizona is continuing the investigation based on information seized during the execution of the search warrant with support from IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona, Phoenix, is prosecuting the case.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.