Southwest PA News

A March 27 Federal Bureau of Investigations and Department of Homeland Security raid in downtown Charleroi came on the heels of a broader federal investigation into Prosperity Services, a company that supplied immigrant workers to Fourth Street Foods, a major employer in the area. 

On Feb. 24 Andy Ha, the owner of Prosperity Services, Inc., a staffing agency in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to charges of harboring illegal aliens for financial gain and failing to pay over $3 million in employment taxes. 

"They were just collecting the workers and withholding the taxes and then not paying it like the worker taxes and they… yeah so that guy got dinged, he pled guilty, you know, and so anyways yeah he's spilling the beans apparently," Charleroi Councilman Larry Celaschi told Southwest Pa News. 

Ha faces a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison, along with fines with sentencing scheduled for July 22, 2025. 

According to the DOJ, between September 2022 and April 2024, Ha employed over 25 undocumented workers, providing housing in a former hotel and transportation to and from work. He also falsified his company's tax returns, reporting only legally authorized workers, which led to a tax loss of at least $3.1 million.

Celaschi elaborated on the scale of the financial implications and also speculated that the investigation was only the beginning of a much larger operation, one that could uncover more criminal activity in Charleroi.

"The verdict on that is coming down," he said. "I think the dollar amount that was listed was like three and a half to four million dollars. Yeah, you're talking tens of millions of dollars, which would be more accurate, but the individual that was found guilty… I'm sure that he's turning federal evidence, state evidence, whatever it may be, and cooperating."

The raid in question reportedly focused on Haitian immigrants granted Temporary Protected Status under the Biden Administration.

Sources indicate that 12-15 FBI and DHS agents were involved, with a McKean Avenue address in Charleroi among the targets of the operation.

“Here is what I saw: right around 11:05 AM I was driving northbound on route 88,” an eyewitness who provided details of the raid to Southwest PA News said. “I noticed what looked to be around a half a dozen FBI agents in green tactical vests standing and gathering outside of 429 Mckean Ave. I circled the block just to make sure that my eyes weren’t deceiving me. Clearly on their bulletproof vest were the letters FBI. The vests were all green in color. There appeared to be a few female agents there. That’s all I know that’s all I saw.” 

Sources have said the FBI and DHS joint enforcement action followed an increase in legal filings by Haitian immigrants. The Trump administration has announced it will revoke the Temporary Protected Status for 530,000 migrants, including Haitians, effective April 24, cutting short their two-year parole status. 

Haitians affected by this decision must leave the U.S. by August 5 or face potential unlawful presence, as part of a broader effort to strengthen immigration enforcement and expedite deportations.

With federal scrutiny of Prosperity Services ongoing, Celaschi warned that more revelations could be on the horizon for Charleroi. 

"And I really feel that this is spinoff from what took place with that verdict. And I think that whatever they're getting from him was just a taste of what's about to come down in our community," he said.

Celaschi called for more communication from federal authorities.

“It’s guaranteed, they had to have a lot of surveillance before they came into this town," Celaschi said. "They did their surveillance due diligence. They're just not gonna come in or knock on the doors or commercial buildings or come up in the residential sector of the town. They had to strategically plan."

Celaschi and other local officials are seeking more details to share with the public. 

"I think they can at least give us something to address at our next council meeting that we can inform the public that whatever came, was it successful?” Celaschi said. “Was it not? Did you accomplish your goal? Can you share anything?” 

Celaschi expressed concerns over rumors swirling around the actions on behalf of the FBI and DHS. 

“At least sit down with us so we can address our people,” he said. “I mean, that’s pretty intimidating. Look, when you get that much activity coming in here and naturally our own local police department knows nothing about that. So that's how tight-lipped they were, you know, to where nobody, nobody knew anything."

Celaschi expressed frustration that Charleroi has frequently found itself in the headlines for less-than-ideal reasons, including the recent federal enforcement operation.

The ongoing investigation into Prosperity Services and its owner, Ha, has added to the tension in a community.

“Once again, we're gonna be in the news again,” he said. “You know, we are not in the news for anything positive. We sure would like to be.”

Celaschi voiced deep frustration over the ongoing challenges facing his town. 

"We've not had a moment's peace in this town in the last two years. Just with everything, loss of jobs, factories to the immigration influx. It's just ridiculous," he said. 

He made it clear that Charleroi’s small budget, which is stretched thin, has not been sufficient to handle the added strain of the town’s population growth. 

"We started out at 4,174 in population from the last census of '23,” Celaschi said. “You know, we're well over 7,000 now. But nobody came in with any more funding to say, man, you guys are going to need more police.” 

Celaschi pointed to the financial strain caused by the increased population. 

“We’ve got no help to be able to adapt to the environment that they dumped on us, and it changed everything here,” Celaschi said. 

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a raid was undertaken at 429 Mckean Ave. and did not necessarily involve a businesses located in the vicinity.