Former employees say Huntersville restaurant used their information to hire undocumented workers

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Two former employees of the Firebirds restaurant in Huntersville say the location used their names and Social Security numbers to hire and pay undocumented workers.

Channel 9’s Evan Donovan looked into the allegations after one of the workers noticed his W-2 didn’t add up.

According to court documents obtained by Channel 9, the former employee of Firebirds Wood Fired Grill in Huntersville went to police in late February. He said he worked at the restaurant between January and July of last year, but when he got his W-2, he discovered he owed taxes on over $20,000 of income that he didn’t work for.

A local tax expert told Channel 9 she’s seen this before.

“Unfortunately, it is very common,” said Adelana Martinez with Aplus 08 Bookkeeping and Tax Services. “There are people without legal status who work without a Social Security number.”

A second former employee says she worked at Firebirds from January to November of last year. She told the Huntersville Police Department that when she checked the restaurant’s system to view her wages, she “observered there was a current employee using her name and Social Security number to be employed there.”

Martinez said it’s a police matter.

“That’s fraud,” Martinez said.

Both employees told police that their addresses and direct deposit account numbers had been changed after they no longer worked there. The victims declined to comment on camera.

We reached out to Firebirds, which is a national chain, and the company sent us a statement in response, saying: “We are aware of an investigation by the Huntersville Police Department. The Company is cooperating with local law enforcement in its investigation. Given the ongoing nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment further.”

Martinez says if you think your information is being used in an unauthorized way, the first thing you should do is contact the police to report potential identity theft. That can prevent you owing taxes on money you never received.

“Once you have the police report, you fill out Form 14039, you send that report, your Social Security number and your ID to the IRS, and the IRS handles it from there,” Martinez said.

Huntersville police told Channel 9 this is an active investigation and the case remains open.

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