A Seattle contractor who underbid government and private construction projects by hiring undocumented workers, falsely reporting the wages he was paying and turning over those in his employ who complained about their compensation to immigration officials, was sentenced to three months in jail under work release and fined $10,000 on Sept. 19.

Dathan Williams, 33, was originally charged last October with two counts of first-degree theft, two counts of false reporting or failure to secure payment of compensation and one count of offering false instrument for filing or record following a lengthy investigation by the Seattle Police Department. Williams’ JRW Structures raked in more than $18,000 for a drywalling contract at the United States Postal Service’s Bellevue Carrier Annex by undercutting workers by more than $30 per hour for the project.

Rather than paying workers $35.40 per hour for the Bellevue Carrier Annex project as is prevailing wage for the federal contract, court documents state Williams paid his drywall installers 23 cents per square foot and lied about it in his reports to the Postal Service. Williams also was found to have used these same practices to obtain contracts at the Moses Lake Civic Center.

A Seattle police officer went undercover to investigate Williams’s company after two local drywall unions identified JRW Structures as an offending subcontractor believed to be exploiting workers, according to court documents. The undercover officer also received construction training before being introduced to Williams by a cooperating witness who has done work with the subcontractor.

Court documents state Williams told the undercover officer he was fond of hiring undocumented workers for cheap labor and had contacted Immigration Customs Enforcement in the past when they demanded more money.

Williams pleaded guilty in July to two counts of second-degree theft and one count of offering false instrument for filing or record.