Businessman pleads guilty to extorting Mexican farmworkers

The owner of an American contracting company, accused by a court in Florida of extorting and subjecting Mexican farm workers with H-2A visas to forced labor, has admitted his guilt, the Justice Department reported Tuesday.

Bladimir Moreno, owner of Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH) associated with two women and a man of Mexican origin to victimize workers who had worked in several US states between 2015 and 2017, according to a ruling by the Federal Court in Tampa, cited in a statement from the Ministry of Justice.

“The scheme used by these defendants trapped victims in fear of serious harm if they did not continue to work hard on behalf of the defendants,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the agency’s Civil Rights Division.

The documents cited by the court indicate that the 55-year-old Moreno, along with his cronies, forced the workers to work in Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia and North Carolina, but demanded large sums of money for the facilitation. of visas, they were also forced to work shifts of up to seven days a week.

To achieve his goals, Moreno resorted to the confiscation of passports, indebtedness, overcrowded conditions and even threats of deportation, indicates the accusing party.

The Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and turn on notifications, or follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.