The employment agencies -- New Fuzhou, Zhong Mei and Lucky -- allegedly placed illegal aliens in mainly restaurant jobs in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The employment agencies were based in Chamblee GA and owned by Chun Yan Lin, 44, of Chamblee; Ai Lin Fu, 40, of Norcross GA; and Pili Chen, 55, of Tucker GA, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Another person arrested last Thursday, Chunbiao Xu, 33, of Norcross, faces the same charges as the employment agency owners.

Others named in the indictment were restaurant owners, who allegedly used the undocumented aliens, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The restaurant owners include Xiang Mei Ke, 32, of Duluth GA, and Jing Xing Jiang, 42, of Lawrenceville GA. Two other restaurant owners were also arrested Thursday, including Liang Feng Chen, 32, of Duluth, and Sau Ting Cheng, 41, of Duluth, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"These defendants allegedly provided jobs that frequently exploited the workers by subjecting them to long shifts, six days a week, often with substandard pay and living conditions," said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. "On top of that, the defendants took large deductions from the workers' pay to reimburse themselves for the costs of the employment agencies' illegal services."

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Thirty nine individuals were also arrested administratively in this case, and are being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending immigration removal proceedings.