Corporate Owners Keep Raided 7-Elevens Open

One day after federal agents raided Smithtown area 7-Elevens, shutting one of them down after their owners were arrested on charges of employer abuse, the Terry Road location was back open Tuesday as the corporation took over operations.

A spokeswoman representing 7-Eleven said that the company's business model consists of a mix of franchises and corporation-owned stores.

Farrukh Baig was one of nine individuals indicted on Monday, which included his wife, Bushra. The couple, along with six others, are alleged to have forced their employees – all, undocumented immigrants – to work long hours for low wages, getting around the system by using false identities to mask the time they actually spent on the clock.

Baig owned eight 7-Eleven franchises across Long Island, including two locations in Smithtown – including the brand new store on Terry Road, and one each in Islip, Selden, Sag Harbor, Greenport, Nesconset, Cutchogue and Port Jefferson Station.

Compounding the crime, authorities said Baig then paid the illegal workers a fraction of their actual earnings and forced them to live in housing Baig and his family owned in exchange for rent taken out of their meager cash-only pay.

All defendants in the case pleaded not guilty during their court arraignments Monday. They were detained without bail, according to the Department of Justice.

Additional reporting provided by Joseph Pinciaro.