Illegal Alien Sentenced to 70 Months for Racketeering Conspiracy That Enslaved Mexican Farmworkers Across Five U.S. States
TAMPA, Fla. — An illegal alien from Mexico was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison Wednesday for his role in a multi-state racketeering conspiracy that used fraudulent visas, coercion, and threats of violence to force vulnerable Mexican laborers into harvesting crops across the southeastern United States.
Alexander Villatoro Moreno, 53, also known as “Quichi,” of Chiapas, Mexico, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to his victims following his guilty plea to conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
According to court documents, Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants operated Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH), a farm labor contracting company that between approximately 2015 and 2017 functioned as a criminal enterprise. The scheme forced victims to work in Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, and North Carolina.
Villatoro Moreno and his co-conspirators fraudulently recruited Mexican nationals to enter the United States on short-term H-2A agricultural visas, misleading U.S. immigration authorities to secure valid visas for their victims. Once the workers arrived, they charged exorbitant recruitment fees and lied about wages, working hours, conditions, and reimbursements.
“The defendant fraudulently used the H-2A visa program to recruit and exploit vulnerable victims for his financial gain,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This case reflects the Department’s commitment to protect the integrity of our nation’s immigration system and hold those accountable who, after engaging in visa fraud, then use deception and coercion to abuse and exploit foreign workers.”
Once inside the United States, Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants compelled workers to provide long hours of physically demanding agricultural labor, six to seven days a week, for far less pay than required by law. But the exploitation extended far beyond low wages.
Prosecutors said the conspirators used a range of coercive tactics to compel victims’ labor, including imposing crushing debts on workers, confiscating their passports, and subjecting them to crowded, unsanitary, and degrading living conditions. They verbally abused and humiliated workers, threatened them with arrest, jail time, and deportation, and isolated them by preventing contact with anyone outside LVH employees. Most chillingly, they threatened to physically harm workers’ family members back in Mexico if the victims failed to comply.
When federal officials began investigating, Villatoro Moreno obstructed the probe by helping prepare false payroll information to conceal underpayments and distributing fake reimbursement receipts to make it appear LVH was complying with the law.
“Villatoro Moreno and his co-conspirators lured victims from Mexico with false promises of fair wages and good working conditions. It was all a lie,” said Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office. “In addition to harsh and extreme working conditions, the workers were subjected to poor living conditions, charged excessive expenses, and endured humiliating treatment and threats. Not only is this wrong, but it is also against the law.”
Villatoro Moreno’s four co-defendants previously pleaded guilty for their roles. His brother, Bladimir Moreno, who owned LVH, was sentenced in 2022 to 118 months in prison and ordered to pay over $175,000 in restitution. Two LVH supervisors, Efrain Cabrera Rodas and Christina Gamez, received sentences of 41 months and 37 months, respectively. A fourth co-defendant, Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza, received eight months of home detention.
“The victims in this case were deceived by conspirators and subjected to deplorable conditions while being exploited for greed and profit,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida. “Today’s judgment sends a clear message that we will leverage the resources of our law enforcement partners to uphold our nation’s immigration laws and vigorously prosecute those who engage in human trafficking.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking is urged to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
Three New Mexico Men Indicted for Smuggling Illegal Aliens — Then Killing a Witness Who Told Law Enforcement
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Three New Mexico men have been charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and, in the case of two of them, killing a witness who provided information about their smuggling operation to law enforcement, federal prosecutors announced.
A federal grand jury in the District of New Mexico returned a superseding indictment charging Wilfrido Saenz, 29; Ignacio Jaramillo, 22; and his brother, Ismael Jaramillo, 35, for their roles in a scheme to transport illegal aliens between June 2021 and April 2024.
Saenz and Ignacio Jaramillo are additionally charged with conspiracy to kill a witness in April 2024 in retaliation for that individual providing law enforcement with information about the alien smuggling operation.
“The superseding indictment in this case highlights the dangers associated with human smuggling,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The criminal networks engaging in this do not care about the people they are smuggling. They only care about money and themselves. They endanger lives and will commit heinous crimes if they believe their network has been exposed and their livelihood is on the line.”
According to court documents, Saenz and Ignacio Jaramillo face charges of conspiracy to retaliate against a witness resulting in her death. If convicted on that count, each faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
All three men are charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Saenz and Ignacio Jaramillo are also charged with two counts each of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years per count.
Saenz has prior convictions for alien smuggling, fraudulently obtaining a motor vehicle, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Ignacio Jaramillo was previously convicted in New Mexico of aggravated assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon and aggravated fleeing from a law enforcement officer.
“Human smuggling operations fuel violence, exploit vulnerable people, and threaten the safety of communities on both sides of the border,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison for the District of New Mexico. “The allegations in this case reflect the ruthless nature of these criminal organizations and the lengths they are willing to go to protect their operations.”
“HSI will not tolerate individuals who attempt to obstruct justice or intimidate those who cooperate with law enforcement,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan McRae of Homeland Security Investigations’ El Paso Field Office.
“The charges announced today send a clear message: individuals who engage in organized criminal activity, exploit vulnerable people, or resort to violence to obstruct justice will face the full weight of the law,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin A. Garris of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office. “The FBI and our partners remain steadfast in our commitment to community safety, combating violent crime, and bringing justice to victim’s families.”
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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