ST. PAUL — Two men have pleaded guilty to hiring people who couldn’t work in the country legally for Twin Cities-area restaurants.

Ming Guo and Bijian Weng were charged in January with hiring 10 or more of the workers for the Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet restaurants in Spring Lake Park and West St. Paul.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, they each pleaded guilty Friday to knowingly hiring workers unauthorized for permanent employment.

The charges stemmed from a September 2014 execution of a search warrant which allegedly turned up 17 of the workers. The release says they knew the workers were not authorized.

The release said the 46-year-old Guo owns the restaurants and the 26-year-old Weng managed one.