24 Indicted For Trafficking People Into 'Brutal' Work On Farms In GA, TX, FL

WAYCROSS, GA — A newly-unsealed federal indictment alleges 24 people brought agricultural workers to the U.S. illegally to work in conditions akin to "modern-day slavery," including in Georgia.

David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced the indictment Monday. The three-year investigation, led by several federal agencies, was called Operation Blooming Onion.

The 24 defendants face charges including conspiracy to engage in forced labor, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and mail fraud. They are accused of committing these crimes across Georgia, as well as in Florida and Texas.

The workers were smuggled from Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala using fraudulent H-2A visas, the indictment said, and forced to work on farms for very little pay and in "brutal" conditions.

The conspirators required the workers to pay unlawful fees for transportation, food, and housing while illegally withholding their travel and identification documents, and subjected the workers 'to perform physically demanding work for little or no pay, housing them in crowded, unsanitary, and degrading living conditions, and by threatening them with deportation and violence,'" a press release from Estes' office said.

"Exploitation of the workers included being required to dig onions with their bare hands, paid 20 cents for each bucket harvested, and threatened with guns and violence to keep them in line," the news release continued. "The workers were held in cramped, unsanitary quarters and fenced work camps with little or no food, limited plumbing and without safe water. The conspirators are accused of raping, kidnapping and threatening or attempting to kill some of the workers or their families, and in many cases sold or traded the workers to other conspirators. At least two of the workers died as a result of workplace conditions."

The following Georgia residents were indicted, according to Estes' office:

• Maria Leticia Patricio, 70, of Nichols, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; two counts of Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering
• Nery Rene Carrillo-Najarro, 56, of Douglas, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; 14 counts of Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering
• JC Longoria Castro, 46, of Vidalia, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; four counts of Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Enrique Duque Tovar, 36, of Axon, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; nine counts of Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Jose Carmen Duque Tovar, 58, of Axon, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; nine counts of Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Charles Michael King, 31, of Waycross, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Stanley Neal McGauley, 38, of Waycross, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Luis Alberto Martinez, a/k/a “Chino Martinez,” 41, of Tifton, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Delia Ibarra Rojas, 33, of Lyons, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; three counts of Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Juana Ibarra Carrillo, 46, of Alma, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Donna Michelle Rojas, a/k/a “Donna Lucio,” 33, of Collins, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; three counts of Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Margarita Rojas Cardenas, a/k/a “Maggie Cardenas,” 43, of Reidsville, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; three counts of Forced Labor; Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering; and Tampering with a Witness;
• Brett Donavan Bussey, 39, of Tifton, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; four counts of Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering; and Tampering with a Witness;
• Linda Jean Facundo, 36, of Tifton, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering;
• Gumara Canela, 34, of Alma, who is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy to Engage in Forced Labor; 14 counts of Forced Labor; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering.

More information is available via Estes' office and the federal indictment.