Free Slurpee Day At 7-Eleven 2013: Going Broke After Immigration Worker Scandal? Convenience Store Chain Tosses Lids Amidst $30 Million Fine

Changes to Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven might reveal some of the economic woes the convenience store chain might be facing after an immigration scandal - the company decided to cut the production of special lids and special sized cups for the occasion.

7-Eleven made the changes as they undergo a $30 Million forfeiture case prompted by an immigration scandal last month that revealed hundreds of undocumented workers employed by the Dallas-based convenience store giant.

Although 7-Eleven will be giving free slurpees in 12 ounce cups instead of 7.11 ounce cups, the company has decided to cut costs by rolling back new cup designs.

Federal officials busted over a dozen 7-Eleven franchises across the East Coast last month for forcing undocumented immigrants to work 100 hours a week and live in substandard housing owned by the operators of the stores for thirteen years, according to the New York Times.

The 7-Eleven stores took in over $180 million in revenue by running what was described as a "modern-day plantation system," officials told various media outlets.

Officials arrested nine 7-Eleven owners and managers and seized their properties that were used as housing.

"From their 7-Eleven stores the defendants dispensed wire fraud and identity theft, along with Slurpees and hot dogs," said Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, according to the New York Times.

"In bedroom communities across Long Island and Virginia, the defendants not only systematically employed illegal immigrants but concealed their crimes by raiding the cradle and grave to steal the identify of children and even the dead."

Beginning July 1, the company began sending out "field consultants" to stores to see if all staffers have proper " I-9" employment-eligibility forms that pass legal muster, the New York Post reports. 

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