Charlestown, West Virginia – The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia announced that 66-year-old John Robert Coe, a retired Wood County Board of Education employee, had pleaded guilty to continuing to employ a known illegal alien.

Court documents explain that a foreign national from Madagascar worked without monetary compensation at a business that Coe co-owned with Frederick Sayre Anderson from early 2011 until May 12, 2021.

Coe admitted to learning the foreign national’s presence in the United States was unlawful in 2011. Coe admitted that the foreign national continued to work at the business until May 12, 2021 despite her illegal immigration status.

Authorities also say the foreign national was housed at the business and sleeping in an office that had been converted into a bedroom. Coe allowed the woman to bathe at his residence. The business is a laboratory that provides water quality testing kits to state and local governments.

Coe admitted that the foreign national performed work for the business, including shipping supplies to customers, handling customer calls, and dealing with accounts receivable. Coe also admitted to having the foreign national perform side jobs for him during this time.

Coe compensated the foreign national in cash for the side jobs. On May 7, 2021, Coe learned from Anderson that federal immigration agents were at the business looking for the foreign national. Coe admitted that Anderson suggested moving the woman into Coe’s residence.

Coe admitted he did not want that. They discussed moving the foreign national into a motel before agreeing they could stay in the business. On May 12, 2021, the foreign national permanently left the business with the assistance of federal authorities.

Coe will be sentenced on May 5 and will face up to six months in prison and three years of supervised release. Coe has agreed to pay $54,740 in restitution. 64-year-old Anderson pleaded guilty to concealing, harboring, and shielding an alien from detection.

Anderson is still awaiting sentencing.