Federal authorities executed search warrants at 14 Zipps restaurants in the Phoenix area on January 26, following a year-long investigation into illegal employment practices, identity theft, and document fraud. The operation was carried out by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Diego Gonzalez-Rosales, a 36-year-old Mexican national residing illegally in the United States, has been charged with multiple offenses including knowingly employing unauthorized aliens, making false attestations on Form I-9, transferring means of identification without authority, and aggravated identity theft. Gonzalez-Rosales is alleged to have been responsible for hiring kitchen staff across all Zipps locations in Arizona and is accused of recruiting and hiring individuals not authorized to work in the country by using fraudulent identification documents to pass E-Verify checks.
Three employees—Edwin Flores Rosales (28), Salvador Villenueva-Rosas (48), and Ludwin Benjamin Perez Velasco (22)—all unlawfully present in the United States, were also charged with lying on their Form I-9s by claiming U.S. citizenship and using false identification and social security numbers.
A total of 39 individuals working at Zipps who were unlawfully present in the United States were taken into custody during the operation.
According to court documents, HSI served notices of inspection to 14 Zipps locations and corporate headquarters in March 2025 after receiving information that employees might be using fraudulent documents for employment verification through E-Verify. The subsequent review of company records revealed instances where names, social security numbers, and dates of birth appeared to be misused for employment purposes.
Further examination of employee wage records identified 76 workers with suspicious employment patterns. These individuals reportedly had between three and 42 active employers other than Zipps Sports Grill during the second quarter of 2025. They had certified themselves as U.S. citizens on their Forms I-9, which meant they did not need to provide an Alien Registration Number. Some records showed multiple jobs and unusually high wages within a single quarter—patterns consistent with aggravated identity theft.
Gonzalez-Rosales is alleged to have knowingly employed unauthorized workers and assisted them in falsifying their I-9 forms by claiming U.S. citizenship and using others’ personal information for employment eligibility.
“A criminal complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” according to the release.
The investigation remains ongoing based on materials seized during the search warrants, with continued involvement from HSI Arizona, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and support from the U.S. Marshals Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is prosecuting the case.
For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona: http://www.justice.gov/usao/az /
