The Delia’s Tamales lawsuit ended in a confidential settlement on February 2, 2026, resolving two federal cases brought by roughly 30 former employees of the South Texas chain who accused the company of wage theft, fraud involving fake Social Security documents, and the exploitation of undocumented workers.1KRGV. Lawsuit Settled Between Delia’s Tamales and Former Employees2ValleyCentral. Delia’s Settles Lawsuit With About 30 Former Employees Most of the workers’ claims had already been dismissed on summary judgment before the parties settled, and a separate federal criminal investigation that produced FBI raids in 2024 has not, as of early 2026, resulted in public charges.3RGV Business Journal. Delia’s Tamales Owner Settles Worker Wage Theft Lawsuit
What the Workers Alleged
The first suit was filed on August 31, 2023, by attorney Richard Alamia on behalf of 26 former employees in Hidalgo County state court and removed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas that October, where it went to U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray.4MyRGV. Lawsuit: Former Delia’s Tamales Employees Allege Decades of Fraud5CourtListener. Cruz v. Delgar Foods, LLC d/b/a Delia’s Tamales, 7:23-cv-00343 The workers said they had been employed between November 2000 and May 2023.
Their central allegation was a payroll scheme. According to the complaint, Delia’s helped workers obtain fake Social Security numbers and permanent resident cards so they could be hired, then deducted 6.2 percent from each paycheck for Social Security contributions. Because the numbers were fraudulent, the Social Security Administration could not match the money to real accounts and allegedly returned it to the company, which the plaintiffs said Delia’s kept.4MyRGV. Lawsuit: Former Delia’s Tamales Employees Allege Decades of Fraud6San Antonio Express-News. Delia’s Sued for Fraud, Discrimination by 26 Ex-Employees The suit also accused the company of firing employees as they approached retirement and threatening to report them to immigration authorities if they protested, with HR clerk Balance E. Sierra and company attorney Stephen Quezada telling terminated workers the company “would call Immigration and ICE.”7ValleyCentral. Lawsuit: Delia’s Tamales Accused of Decades of Fraud
As the case moved forward, attorney Douglas A’Hern, who took over for the plaintiffs, alleged the company kept two sets of books, one for legitimate payroll and another for off-the-books cash payments. Some workers described 15-hour days, and plaintiffs said founder Delia Lubin had used some employees as housekeepers at her private home.8MyRGV. New Details Emerge in Delia’s Tamales Wage Theft Lawsuit Delgar Foods LLC, the San Juan-based operator of the chain, denied the allegations.6San Antonio Express-News. Delia’s Sued for Fraud, Discrimination by 26 Ex-Employees
The FBI and IRS Raids
On the morning of July 24, 2024, FBI agents and IRS Criminal Investigation personnel searched Delia’s locations in McAllen, Pharr, and San Antonio, with San Antonio police assisting at the Bexar County site.9Texas Public Radio. FBI Searches Delia’s Tamales in San Antonio and McAllen10KSAT. FBI Raids Delia’s Tamales in Northwest Bexar County The FBI described the searches only as “court authorized law enforcement activity” and did not say what it was investigating. As of February 2026, no criminal charges tied to the raids had been made public, and attorneys for the civil plaintiffs said they had not been contacted by federal investigators.11San Antonio Express-News. Delia’s Tamales Settles Lawsuit
How the First Case Narrowed
By the time the first lawsuit reached summary judgment, the plaintiffs had dropped their claims about fake Social Security numbers, human trafficking, and immigration threats, leaving only overtime wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.12San Antonio Express-News. Delia’s Tamales Lawsuit Overtime Employees
In a 29-page ruling dated September 30, 2025, Judge Bray granted summary judgment for Delia’s on the claims of 24 of the 27 remaining plaintiffs.13GovInfo. Cruz et al v. Delgar Foods, LLC d/b/a Delia’s Tamales, 7:23-cv-00343 He called the workers’ evidence of unpaid overtime “vague and conclusory,” writing that none of them made clear “that they were not actually paid overtime for any specific amount of hours worked.”12San Antonio Express-News. Delia’s Tamales Lawsuit Overtime Employees The company produced biometric timeclock records and 2020 pay stubs showing time-and-a-half payments. Many claims also fell outside the three-year statute of limitations, and several plaintiff affidavits were submitted in Spanish without English translations that the court was not required to consider.14Yahoo News. Legal Twist Sets Next Round
Seven plaintiffs had been classified as salaried, exempt employees. The judge found four of them genuinely met the executive exemption and dismissed their claims. Three others, Luis Zuniga, Rose Quintanilla, and Hector Gonzalez, survived summary judgment because a factual dispute remained about whether their actual duties matched their exempt classification.14Yahoo News. Legal Twist Sets Next Round
The Second Lawsuit Against Lubin and Family
In October 2024, a second suit was filed against Delia Lubin individually and against Sofia Treviño, Lorena Lubin, Alejandro Treviño, and Juan Garza. Brought on behalf of 33 former employees, 28 of whom overlapped with the first case, it invoked both the Texas Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act and the federal RICO statute. The complaint accused the defendants of running an organized scheme to exploit undocumented workers, supplying fake documents, committing mail and wire fraud, and withholding hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages. The plaintiffs sought treble damages.15MyRGV. Former Delia’s Tamales Employees File New Wage Theft Lawsuit
In April 2025 filings, attorneys from Porter Hedges answered on behalf of Lubin and Treviño, denying the allegations. Both acknowledged an ownership interest in Delgar Foods LLC but denied managing or operating Delia’s Tamales.16San Antonio Express-News. Delia’s Tamales Lawsuit Texas ICE Lubin, 78, said through counsel that she had not been involved in day-to-day decisions for more than seven years and that the claims were made “solely for the purposes of harassment.”17San Antonio Express-News. Delia Lubin Delia’s Tamales Lawsuit She repeated that assertion in a November 2025 filing.18San Antonio Express-News. Delia’s Tamales Lawsuits Employees Settle
The February 2026 Settlement
On February 2, 2026, Judge Bray issued orders acknowledging that both federal lawsuits had settled and directed the parties to file dismissal documents within 30 days.1KRGV. Lawsuit Settled Between Delia’s Tamales and Former Employees The deal covered both the original wage theft case and the RICO suit, and resolved the claims of roughly 30 former employees.2ValleyCentral. Delia’s Settles Lawsuit With About 30 Former Employees
The financial terms are confidential. Attorney Richard Alamia, who represented the former employees alongside Ric Gonzalez, told reporters, “The only thing I can say is, we’re happy the cases have been settled,” adding that his clients were “very happy” with the outcome but could not disclose details.19Yahoo News. Delia’s Tamales Ex-Employees Settle Gonzalez acknowledged that many of the original claims had not survived, with some falling outside the statute of limitations and others belonging to managers exempt from overtime protections.2ValleyCentral. Delia’s Settles Lawsuit With About 30 Former Employees William Stukenberg and Stephen Quezada, representing Lubin and her daughters, did not respond to requests for comment on the settlement.18San Antonio Express-News. Delia’s Tamales Lawsuits Employees Settle
What Remains Open
The settlement closes the civil litigation, but the federal criminal investigation that prompted the July 2024 FBI and IRS raids is a separate matter and remained unresolved as of early 2026, with no public charges filed.3RGV Business Journal. Delia’s Tamales Owner Settles Worker Wage Theft Lawsuit