A woman in Florida pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a federal racketeering conspiracy that victimized Mexican agricultural workers admitted into the United States under the H-2A temporary visa program.
According to the plea agreement, Christina Gamez, 43, from March 2016 through August 2017, while working as a bookkeeper, manager, and supervisor for Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH), a labor contracting company employing Mexican H-2A workers harvesting fruits and vegetables in Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, and North Carolina, conspired with LVH’s owner and others to commit racketeering offenses, including subjecting LVH’s H-2A workers to forced labor, harboring LVH’s H-2A workers in the United States after their visas had expired for financial gain, and committing visa fraud and fraud in foreign labor contracting.
Gamez admitted that she and her co-conspirators used coercive means to obtain thousands of hours of physically demanding agricultural labor from the victimized H-2A workers, all for de minimis pay.
The coercive means used included confiscating the workers’ passports; subjecting the workers to crowded, unsanitary, and degrading living conditions; isolating the workers, and limiting their ability to interact with anyone other than LVH employees, and subjecting the workers to debt manipulation.
Gamez also admitted that, while working for LVH, she knowingly prepared and sent falsified records to federal investigators to conceal aspects of the criminal enterprise.
A date for Gamez’s sentencing hearing has not yet been set. Gamez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. As part of her plea agreement, Gamez has agreed to pay more than $9,000 in restitution to the victims.
Visit Tampafp.com for Politics, Tampa Area Local News, Sports, and National Headlines. Support journalism by clicking here to our GiveSendGo or sign up for our free newsletter by clicking here.
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook Here Or Twitter Here.