Brenda and Robert “Bob” Kenneth Clouston, former owners of the Colt Grill BBQ & Spirits restaurants, have pleaded guilty to federal charges related to knowingly employing and harboring unauthorized immigrants. The couple, whose restaurants included locations in the Village of Oak Creek, Cottonwood, and other Arizona towns, are scheduled for sentencing on Wednesday, Jan. 6. Their pleas followed a three-year labor exploitation investigation that culminated in simultaneous raids on multiple Colt Grill locations in July 2025, leading to 30 undocumented workers being slated for deportation.
Robert Clouston pleaded guilty on September 29 in federal court in Phoenix to a misdemeanor charge of a pattern and practice of knowingly employing unauthorized immigrants and a felony charge of conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants. For these charges, he faced significant penalties, including up to a decade in prison, a $250,000 fine, and additional fines of up to $3,000 for every unauthorized immigrant identified. His wife, Brenda Clouston, also entered a guilty plea on September 29, specifically to a misdemeanor charge of knowingly hiring unauthorized immigrants. This charge carries a maximum fine of up to $3,000 per unauthorized worker.
These pleas followed a comprehensive three-year labor exploitation investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The investigation culminated in simultaneous raids on Colt Grill locations in the Village of Oak Creek, Cottonwood, Prescott, Prescott Valley, and Foley, Alabama, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. These operations led to the identification of 30 undocumented workers, all of whom were slated for deportation.
Earlier in the same year, on May 28, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office announced that two former Colt Grill employees, Iris Cristal Romero-Molina and Luis Pedro Rogel-Jaimes, had also pleaded guilty to similar charges. Both Mexican nationals, illegally present in the United States and residing in Cottonwood, admitted to harboring and employing undocumented workers across the various Colt Grill locations. They were subsequently sentenced the following month, on June 23, to six months of time served.
The investigation revealed that the Cloustons, along with Romero-Molina and Rogel-Jaimes, had created a separate entity called R&R AZ Cleaning. This company was reportedly used to process payments for the workers, utilizing funds originating from Colt Grill. It was further detailed that the Cloustons paid these undocumented workers below minimum wage and failed to provide them with overtime compensation. As part of Robert Clouston's plea agreement, he is required to properly compensate these employees for their owed overtime.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement press release issued on July 17, 2025, provided insight into the potential legal consequences for such offenses. According to the release, convictions for conspiracy to bring, transport, harbor, or encourage and induce illegal aliens to unlawfully enter the United States each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. A conviction for “pattern and practice of knowingly employing unauthorized aliens” carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and up to a $3,000 fine per unauthorized employee.
Prior to their sentencing, the Cloustons had been free on their own recognizance. Their trial had been scheduled for the month following the Arizona Republic's report.