(The Center Square) – Federal prosecutors announced charges against six individuals on Monday after they allegedly transported hundreds of farmworkers to Washington state under fraudulent H-2A visas.
The first case involves a 10-count indictment announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington against two individuals from Yakima. The second involves a 51-count indictment against four other defendants, three from Tri-Cities and one from Yakima, over similar allegations.
Marshals are still attempting to arrest Cesar Jamie Rebolledo Diaz and Socorro Ramos of Yakima after they allegedly transported more than 100 temporary workers from Mexico to eastern Washington. The pair obtained H-2A visas after submitting paperwork that claimed they represented Marquez Farms.
Francisco Rodríguez Martel, Esmeralda Rodríguez, Erica Cisneros and Giovanna Sierra Carrillo, charged under the second indictment, went further after allegedly obtaining more than 500 fraudulent visas. They submitted paperwork for 10 farms in Yakima and Benton Counties for the 2022 to 2024 crop seasons.
“The importance of this case cannot be understated,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano wrote on Monday in a press release. “When the United States Attorney’s office receives credible information from investigating agencies that stand as the basis for immigration fraud, we will charge these cases.”
According to a state audit, Washington’s H-2A program has grown by 420%, from around 6,000 visas approved in 2013 to 33,000 in 2022. Guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor requires employers to pay their H-2A workers special rates and provide housing and transportation to and from the job.
According to the releases, the two defendants in the first case transported more than 100 workers into the country in an overcrowded school bus without air conditioning or water. Some workers received no work after the trip, and others worked without pay, without being provided food or adequate housing.
In the second case, the four defendants obtained hundreds of visas through a farm labor contracting business they named “Harvest Plus.” They allegedly submitted paperwork to agencies with “bogus” job locations, hours, wages, and agreements for food, housing and more, despite promises of legal work.
“When bad actors exploit vulnerable workers or attempt to game the system, we investigate, we expose, and we hold them accountable,” DOL Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito wrote in the releases on Monday. “We will continue working … to ensure these programs serve legitimate labor needs — not criminal enterprises. Fraud will not be tolerated. Accountability is not optional.”
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a release in October 2024 confirming that it had debarred Harvest Plus from the H-2A program for 3 years and assessed $252,475 in civil penalties. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries then affirmed the denial of Harvest Plus’ farm labor contract licenses in March.
Many of the foreign nationals in the second indictment allegedly performed unauthorized labor, worked overtime without pay and lived in overcrowded housing afterward with no access to a kitchen. One of the defendants even required the workers to pay illegal fees for substandard housing and food.
In both cases, the defendants allegedly pressured their workers to stay silent to avoid investigations.
“My office is committed to seeking justice for these vulnerable victims and protecting the integrity of a federal program vital to the success of our agricultural sector in the Eastern District,” Serrano wrote.
