South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Thursday that two managers at a copper-casting plant in Abbeville County have been criminally charged in a state-led worksite enforcement operation, known as “SC worksite enforcement Abbeville,” that also produced indictments against four document vendors and the detention of 48 workers by federal immigration agents.
The operation, code-named “Operation Ghost Story,” was executed Wednesday morning at Burnstein Von Seelen Precision Casting and is the largest single-site worksite case publicly reported in South Carolina since the State Law Enforcement Division entered a 287(g) partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March 2025.
The criminal charges are state charges returned by the South Carolina State Grand Jury. The detentions are civil immigration proceedings handled by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, not criminal charges. Wilson announced the indictments at a press conference in Columbia after an investigation that began in October 2024.
SC Worksite Enforcement Abbeville: A Closer Look
The operation and the indictments
The state’s investigation opened in fall 2024 after local law enforcement in the Abbeville area told the Attorney General’s office that the plant employed a substantial number of workers without permanent legal status and that local agencies lacked the resources to pursue the case, according to the Attorney General’s office. The SC worksite enforcement Abbeville case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Creighton Waters, chief attorney for the State Grand Jury, and Assistant Deputy Attorney General David Fernandez.
The operation executed at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 3, drew agents from SLED, ICE, Homeland Security Investigations and the sheriff’s offices of Abbeville, Greenwood, Newberry and Greenville counties, along with the Eighth Circuit Solicitor’s office. Witnesses near the plant in Donalds — a community of about 300 — described what they estimated to be roughly 200 law enforcement vehicles in the area, according to Index-Journal.
Christopher Douglas Ramey, identified by the Attorney General’s office as the plant manager, and Sandy Lynn Willis, identified as the company’s human resources coordinator, were arrested and face State Grand Jury indictments charging criminal conspiracy, identity fraud to obtain employment and forgery valued at more than $10,000. Both are U.S. citizens and both were in custody as of the Attorney General’s announcement.
Four additional defendants were indicted on the document-supply side of the case. Jose Luis Aguilar Mejia, charged with two counts of forgery over $10,000 and three counts of identity fraud, remains at large and is wanted, the Attorney General’s office said. Lazaro Hernandez Hernandez, also known as Diego Hernandez, is in custody on one count of forgery over $10,000 and one count of identity fraud and was denied bond on April 22, 2025.
Xavier Martinez Adorno, held in Horry County, faces four counts of forgery over $10,000 and three counts of identity fraud. Zenon Rojas-Cabrera, held in Newberry County on a $50,000 surety bond set Sept. 17, 2025, is charged with two counts of identity fraud to obtain employment and four counts of forgery over $10,000.
The plant and the workforce
Burnstein Von Seelen Precision Casting Corp. produces permanent-mold castings in copper, brass and bronze alloys at its Abbeville facility and is described on its corporate website as the only ISO-certified copper-based permanent-mold casting plant in North America. The company was founded in 1985 by Sam Burnstein and Hartmut von Seelen and is currently led by their sons, Danny Burnstein and Aaron von Seelen. The website lists approximately 200 employees and more than 1,300 unique parts produced at the plant, which operates on roughly 35 acres about 90 miles west of Columbia near the Georgia state line.
Abbeville County has a population of about 25,000, and its immigrant population is about 2.6 percent of residents, according to The Post and Courier.
The 48 workers detained by ICE during a single shift Wednesday morning are primarily Mexican and Guatemalan nationals, according to Index-Journal, with the Associated Press concurring. None of the 48 has been publicly identified, and none has been charged criminally based on public reporting as of Thursday’s announcement. ICE Assistant Field Office Director Maria Somers said the agency is reviewing each case individually.
“We are vetting all those cases to review everyone’s status and give them opportunities for due process,” Somers said. She added, in remarks reported by Index-Journal: “You’re going to see a lot more of these raids.”
Burnstein Von Seelen leadership did not respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press, and no public statement from the company or its attorneys had been issued by Thursday evening.
State-led case, federal partner on the civil side
Wilson’s office framed the case as state-led with federal participation on the civil immigration side, not a federal worksite enforcement action. All six indictments were returned by the State Grand Jury and will be prosecuted in state court. The U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of South Carolina has no formal role in the criminal case.
Wilson, speaking in his capacity as attorney general, said the focus of the indictments was the alleged document-supply network and the company employees accused of using it, not the detained workers.
“This isn’t about going after people trying to feed their family,” Wilson said at the Columbia press conference. This is about a conspiracy to steal identities, create fake social security cards, fake driver’s licenses.
In a statement issued through his office, Wilson added: “If you are unlawfully aiding illegal immigrants in South Carolina, you are going to be investigated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Waters told The Post and Courier the document-vendor side of the investigation was the priority. “We can’t have readily available false identification that’s stealing the identity of real Americans just freely flowing through the economy,” he said.
Eighth Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo, whose office covers Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens and Newberry counties, called the operation “a great example of seamless coordination between multiple law enforcement agencies working shoulder-to-shoulder with prosecutors.”
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Mark M. Zito framed the conduct under investigation as identity-theft harm to U.S. citizens. The crimes uncovered in Operation Ghost Story are not victimless,” Zito said in the Attorney General’s release. “When illegal aliens use stolen identities and forged documents, they victimize law-abiding citizens whose personal information is misused.”
SLED’s expanded immigration role
The state-led structure of the Burnstein Von Seelen case sits inside a broader shift in South Carolina’s law enforcement footprint on immigration. SLED signed a 287(g) agreement with ICE in March 2025 — a memorandum of agreement that authorizes designated state agents to perform specified federal immigration enforcement functions under ICE supervision. As of Feb. 1, 2026, 82 SLED agents had been granted that federal authority.
SLED’s Immigration Enforcement Unit assisted in 1,015 immigration operations during 2025, a 261 percent increase since 2023, according to figures the agency provided to The Post and Courier. At least 145 immigration-related arrests have been logged by the unit since 2023, “the majority in Abbeville, Greenwood and Newberry counties.
Wilson framed the case as a product of that shift. “The priorities of the current administration are much more geared toward local collaboration with federal partnerships,” he told The Post and Courier.
The Burnstein Von Seelen operation is the largest SC worksite enforcement Abbeville case publicly reported in South Carolina since the 287(g) agreement took effect. The last comparable single-site case in the Carolinas was the October 2008 raid at the Columbia Farms poultry plant in Greenville, owned by House of Raeford Farms, which produced the arrest of 330 workers along with 11 supervisors and the plant’s human resources director.
Community response and what is not known – SC worksite enforcement Abbeville
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina criticized the operation Thursday, framing the detentions as a family-separation event. Executive Director Jace Woodrum said in a statement that “South Carolinians are fearful today following a workplace raid in Abbeville” and that “these employees showed up for work, and many of them will not be able to return home to their families.” Woodrum urged the public to view ICE characterizations “with a grain of salt.” The ACLU’s family-separation framing has not been independently verified by reporting that names individual detainees or documents specific family circumstances.
The Post and Courier reported that several immigrant-owned businesses in the Abbeville area, including a gas station near the plant, closed in the immediate aftermath of the operation. No statements have been issued by Catholic Charities of South Carolina, South Carolina Legal Services or the South Carolina Hispanic Leadership Council, and no faith-community organizations have made public comment.
Gov. Henry McMaster’s office has not issued a public statement on the SC worksite enforcement Abbeville operation. Members of South Carolina’s congressional delegation and local elected officials in Abbeville and surrounding municipalities had also not commented as of Thursday evening.
Several facts remain unconfirmed in public reporting of the SC worksite enforcement Abbeville. The specific South Carolina code sections behind each indictment count were not disclosed in the Attorney General’s release. The charging status of the 48 detained workers — whether any will face federal criminal charges beyond civil immigration proceedings — has not been clarified. The plant’s current operational status, including whether production has resumed, was not publicly disclosed by the company or by state officials.
What to watch -SC worksite enforcement Abbeville
The six indicted defendants will move through the South Carolina court system on the State Grand Jury indictments, with bond proceedings, arraignments and pretrial filings to follow. Aguilar Mejia remains at large. The 48 detained workers face civil immigration proceedings whose timing and venue depend on ICE custody decisions and the federal immigration court docket. The company’s operational and personnel response — and whether additional indictments follow — will shape how broadly the case is read in the state’s manufacturing economy. SLED’s broader 287(g) activity and the Abbeville-Greenwood-Newberry corridor remain the documented focus of South Carolina’s expanded immigration enforcement footprint.
Further Reading
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – South Carolina Attorney General’s office — press release on Operation Ghost Story: https://www.scag.gov/about-the-office/news/alan-wilson-announces-multi-jurisdictional-law-enforcement-operation-resulting-in-48-illegal-immigrants-detained-and-6-defendants-indicted-for-use-of-fraudulent-identity-documents/
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – The Post and Courier — SLED, ICE participate in Abbeville immigration enforcement: https://www.postandcourier.com/columbia/news/abbeville-sc-immigration-enforcement-ice-sled/article_b5a7af80-d3b6-44ee-b024-0401ae02f126.html
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – Index-Journal — State grand jury issues six indictments in ‘Ghost Story’ investigation tied to Abbeville: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/state-grand-jury-issues-six-indictments-in-ghost-story-investigation-tied-to-abbeville/article_dda244d0-6022-49d1-aede-c0656a08c531.html
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – SC Daily Gazette — More than 50 arrested in Upstate immigration sting: https://scdailygazette.com/2026/06/04/more-than-50-arrested-in-upstate-immigration-sting/
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – WLTX — 48 persons detained by ICE, 6 others indicted for fraudulent IDs: https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/48-persons-detained-by-ice-6-others-indicted-for-fraudulent-ids-in-south-carolina-operation-operation-ghost-story/101-31e706d3-6e76-4ad1-87c2-3fffa30af327
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – Fox Carolina — AG: 48 detained by ICE at Abbeville Co. plant, 6 indicted in ‘Ghost Story’ operation: https://www.foxcarolina.com/2026/06/04/ag-48-detained-by-ice-operation-burnstein-von-seelen-6-indicted/
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – SC Public Radio — Six indicted, 48 detained after immigration investigation in Abbeville: https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/sc-news/2026-06-04/six-indicted-48-detained-after-immigration-investigation-in-abbeville
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – Associated Press via Washington Times — South Carolina probe into fake IDs leads to ICE detention of 48 immigrants: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/4/fake-id-probe-south-carolina-leads-ice-detention-48-immigrants/
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – Fox Carolina — ACLU responds to Abbeville ICE raid: https://www.foxcarolina.com/2026/06/04/south-carolinians-are-fearful-today-aclu-responds-abbeville-ice-raid/
SC worksite enforcement Abbeville – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — 287(g) program overview: https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g
