LEWISTON — Department of Homeland Security Investigations agents visited multiple addresses here Tuesday amid a broad national crackdown on unauthorized workers, according to a department post on social media platform X.
The social media account HSI New England posted Tuesday evening that the agency is “actively conducting audits of businesses in Maine to protect America from fraud & ensure businesses only employ legal workers.”
Photos shared on the account’s post show at least six agents appearing to deliver paperwork to two Lewiston addresses: 210 Blake St., at which several immigrant organizations are registered, and 124 Canal St., where Gateway Community Services Maine and the Immigrant Resource Center of Maine, among other organizations, hold offices.
No one was at either business Wednesday when attempts were made by the Sun Journal to contact them. Attempts to reach owners by telephone were also unsuccessful.
Lewiston Police Department spokesman Lt. Derrick St. Laurent said his department was aware of Homeland Security’s activity in the city, but was not involved.
“This is an investigation led by HSI,” St. Laurent said. “They have not requested our assistance, but did give us the courtesy of letting us know they would be in town visiting with several local businesses.”
The Blake Street address has drawn local scrutiny over residency issues involving Lewiston Ward 5 councilor-elect Iman Osman. The condemned building is listed as Osman’s legal residence, which has prompted questions from residents about whether Osman’s living situation meets municipal and state requirements for voting and candidate residency.
Osman, through his attorney, has said he plans to move back to the residence once current renovations are complete. He has declined to state publicly where he is living currently because, his attorney said, of threats made against him.
Based on information from the Maine Secretary of State’s Office earlier this year, the City Council didn’t pursue the residency matter. However, the council voted last month to ask the incoming council to investigate whether Osman’s residency complies with the city charter.
Councilors-elect are scheduled to be inaugurated Jan. 5.
Gateway Community Services Maine, a Portland-based nonprofit that provides services reimbursed through MaineCare, has been referred to the Office of the Maine Attorney General following state audit findings. Gateway’s state MaineCare payments were suspended last week after allegations of falsifying billing records.
Officials with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said last week the agency found a “credible allegation of fraud” involving services not rendered or ineligible for coverage. According to the department, it found more than $1.6 million in MaineCare overpayments to Gateway across multiple audit periods since 2015.
Officials with Gateway have denied any wrongdoing and say they have cooperated with audits and complied with billing requirements.
Gateway, whose mission is to provide inclusive health and social services, maintains a satellite office at the Canal Street address.
The Sun Journal could not confirm what kind of paperwork HSI agents delivered to the addresses in Lewiston. Efforts to reach officials with businesses at the Blake Street and Canal Street locations were unsuccessful.
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said HSI’s audits are an operation that “appears to single out Lewiston businesses.”
“It feels like a heavy-handed approach to deliver an administrative notice that could have been handled through email,” Sheline said.
