A Ukrainian national pleaded guilty on Nov. 25 to conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the US Department of Justice announced.

Between August 2007 and August 2021, Oleg Oliynyk and others owned and operated a series of staffing companies in South Florida, including Paradise Choice, Paradise Choice Cleaning, Tropical City Services and Tropical City Group. According to the Justice Department, the staffing firms facilitated hospitality industry employment of people who were not authorized to work in the US and helped evade the assessment and collection of federal income and employment taxes.

Oliynyk and his co-defendants also laundered more than $11 million of proceeds from their scheme, the department reported. Co-defendant Oleksandr Yurchyk previously pleaded guilty on Nov. 1.

A sentencing hearing for Oliynyk will be set at a later date; he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit money laundering charge and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy to defraud the US charge.