A still from video shot the day of the raid in El Cajon in March / DHS
El Cajon, California – In a dramatic turn for an El Cajon paint business, federal authorities have slammed San Diego Powder & Protective Coatings with a hefty $230,000 penalty after a high-profile immigration bust. The company’s hiring manager is also facing the music, having confessed in court to knowingly employing undocumented workers.
Back in March, law enforcement made headlines when they descended on the Magnolia Avenue warehouse, rounding up numerous individuals during the surprise raid. The business, known for coating everything from military to government vessels, suddenly found itself at the center of a major immigration probe.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, general manager John Washburn was front and center in the illegal hiring scandal. Prosecutors say Washburn not only let unauthorized workers clock in—he allegedly permitted some to live on-site inside the warehouse itself. Earlier this year, Washburn admitted guilt to systematically hiring undocumented immigrants, earning himself a sentence of one year’s probation and 50 hours of community service.
On Wednesday, it was the company’s turn in the hot seat. In a San Diego courtroom, corporate brass entered a guilty plea, acknowledging that Washburn and other leaders recruited those without legal work status in the U.S. As part of the deal, the company will shell out $230,000, believed to be profits reaped from the illicit workforce, and sign onto a strict government work eligibility program. Under ICE’s IMAGE initiative, San Diego Powder will subject itself to ongoing audits and beef up employee training to sniff out fake documents and identify forced labor.
HR manager Karli Buxton, 41, also faced the judge, admitting she knowingly hired staff using bogus paperwork. Court records reveal the feds went undercover as part of their probe—a Homeland Security agent landed a job at the warehouse using phony identification, exposing the business’s lax hiring practices from the inside out.
