OMAHA — A Grand Island lawn care company owner has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for harboring illegal immigrants and manipulating financial transactions to avoid reporting them.

David Wortman, 50, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Omaha. He pleaded guilty last year to two felony charges.

Wortman had turned himself in after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided Cloudburst Lawn and Sprinkler in September 2007 and arrested 19 suspected illegal immigrants. Seven other workers were arrested in May 2007 after a traffic stop of a Cloudburst van.

Wortman also was being investigated for failing to pay overtime to employees. Under terms of his plea agreement, he’ll pay more than $200,000 dollars to the Department of Labor, which will reimburse current and former Cloudburst employees for unpaid overtime.

Employees who think they may be entitled to reimbursement should contact the U.S. Department of Labor.

Wortman admitted to hiring 26 workers without checking their identification or getting any proof they were eligible to work in the United States. Cloudburst performs lawn maintenance and snow removal services.

Wortman paid the undocumented workers in cash. In order to get the cash, Wortman cashed about $440,000 in checks from customers in a way that let him avoid federal reporting requirements.

Wortman could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on each felony charge.