Federal authorities have launched an investigation into Prosperity Services, a contractor supplying immigrant workers to Fourth Street Foods in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania is keeping mum.
The inquiry focuses on allegations that Prosperity “knowingly paid undocumented non-citizen employees with cash” and has “transported and housed undocumented non-citizens for employment purposes.”
“We aren’t able to offer a comment at this time,” a spokesman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania told DVJournal.
This investigation into Prosperity Services follows questions regarding immigration in the small community, which has seen an influx of some 2,000 Haitian migrants.
Fourth Street Foods, which employs around 700 workers from more than 40 countries provided through Prosperity Services, told WTAE-TV that it only hires legal immigrants with valid permits.
Court records indicate significant cash seizures tied to Prosperity’s activities, including nearly $1 million from the contractor and its president, Andy Ha.
Ha hung up on WTAE-TV when contacted by phone.
However, Gregory Cherisme, a 47-year-old community leader and former food processing worker who worked for Prosperity Services from 2020 to 2023 tells a different story.
“They knew I didn’t have any documents. I wasn’t working legally when I first came here,” Cherisme told The Telegraph.
Cherisme said he was paid $8 an hour for assembling sandwiches in difficult conditions, describing the work as “back breaking” and stating that locals were not willing to take on such jobs.
The recent demographic shifts have ignited controversy in Charleroi, especially after former President Trump labeled Haitian immigrants as having “invaded” the area.
Writing in City Journal, journalist Chris Rufo noted many longtime Charleroi residents feel frustrated, claiming that resources are being diverted to support the non-citizen newcomers, who they believe are undercutting wages and contributing to rising crime.
The situation also has sparked a broader debate about immigration policies and their impacts on small towns, raising concerns over who benefits from these demographic shifts and who gets to decide the future of communities like Charleroi.
Libs of TikTok also posted about the Haitian influx in Charleroi’s workforce.
“Incredible footage revealing an operation in Charleroi, PA where Haitians are being bussed to and from food factories operated by Fourth Street Foods,” Libs of TikTok said on X.
The post linked to a video showing vans full of Haitians being transported to work.
“It’s estimated that 90% of workers are now made up of Haitians. Kamala imported 2,000 Haitians into this town of 4,000 people and now they’re taking American jobs,” Libs of TikTok said.
The situation in Charleroi further reflects debates on immigration policies undertaken by the Biden/Harris Administration and implications for small towns across the U.S.
Conservative commentator Steve Cortes highlighted the situation during a recent visit to Charleroi, describing it as “untenable” and warning that the local budget cannot support the increased strain on schools and public services.
Cortes argued that the current administration’s approach maymight politically motivated, predicting potential amnesty for the new arrivals, and criticized the lack of integration among migrants, describing it as creating a “parallel community” within the town. He labeled the Biden administration’s immigration policies as part of a “globalist open borders madness.”
“Kamala Harris… would grant amnesty for these people and give them citizenship,” Cortes said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, headed by U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan is overseeing the investigation into Prosperity Services.
In 2023, Olshan, a longtime assistant U.S. attorney, was nominated by President Biden to serve as the top attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, following a tenure marked by significant controversies and tensions within the office.
In 2020, Olshan, alongside 15 other prosecutors, publicly criticized then-Attorney General William Barr’s memo that suggested investigating voter fraud before the certification of election results, a move that sparked conflicts with former U.S. Attorney Scott Brady.
Brady’s comments during a news conference pointed to Olshan’s wife’s previous work with former leftist attorneys general Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, described by Olshan as “inappropriate and retaliatory.”
This backdrop of contention highlights the challenges faced by the U.S. Attorney’s office during a tumultuous political climate.
Olshan’s nomination has received strong support from Pennsylvania U.S. Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman, both Democrats and fervent supporters of the Biden/Harris Administration.
Casey emphasized his commitment to “integrity, fairness, and equal justice for all” during the nomination announcement, amid a tight race against Republican challenger Dave McCormick.
Casey notably has garnered high praise from pro-immigration groups, while facing criticism from anti-immigration advocates, including NumbersUSA, which also gave a low rating to Fetterman’s record, and the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
