Criminal complaint against Marlette couple dismissed

(MARLETTE) — The criminal complaint against a Marlette couple accused of conspiring to supply dairy farms with workers in the U.S. illegally has been dismissed. The federal charges were brought against 63-year old Ralph Stewart and his 59-year old wife Yolanda last month in what was described by authorities as a long-running scheme that involved phony identification, shuttles between Michigan and Ohio, and regular stops at a bank to cash nearly $2 million in paychecks over a 4-year period. It was alleged that Yolanda charged workers hundreds of dollars to get a job at dairy farms. Published reports say prosecutors filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss the complaint to give the government additional time to investigate the extent of the offenses in question and identify other individuals who should be held criminally responsible.