Washington, N.C.-based labor contractor charged in federal forced labor case

A Washington-based farm labor contractor and two others have been indicted on federal charges accusing them of trafficking Mexican agricultural workers into forced labor in North Carolina and other states.

A 35-count indictment unsealed Friday charges Martha Zeferino Jose, 42, a permanent U.S. resident and citizen of Mexico, along with her partner, identified as Jose Rodriguez Munoz, and her son, Jeremy Zeferino Jose, 23. The charges stem from alleged conduct tied to Las Princesas Corporation, a farm labor contracting company based in Washington, North Carolina.

Federal prosecutors allege the company recruited workers from Mexico to the United States on temporary H-2A agricultural visas and then exploited them for financial gain.

According to court documents, between August 2021 and July 2022, Martha Zeferino Jose submitted applications to the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services certifying that Las Princesas would comply with federal labor laws and visa requirements. Prosecutors allege those certifications were fraudulent and that the defendants never intended to follow through on the promised employment conditions.

Authorities say recruiters working for Las Princesas charged workers significant recruitment fees before they arrived in the United States, placing them in debt. Once in the country, the indictment alleges the defendants confiscated workers’ passports, visas and identification documents to prevent them from leaving.

Workers were allegedly made to perform physically demanding labor at farms and plant nurseries, including in North Carolina, under poor conditions. Prosecutors claim the workers were forced to work long hours without adequate breaks or access to water, housed in overcrowded and unsanitary residences, denied required wages, and in some cases deprived of food and medical care.

The indictment also alleges the defendants imposed strict rules to isolate workers, prohibited them from leaving or speaking to others outside their group, and threatened to report them to immigration authorities if they complained. When some workers’ H-2A visas expired, prosecutors say the defendants told them to remain in the country and harbored them for continued labor.

When the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division began investigating Las Princesas, prosecutors allege Martha Zeferino Jose and Munoz attempted to obstruct the inquiry. According to the indictment, they returned confiscated documents before investigators arrived and instructed workers to tell investigators that nothing was wrong. Munoz is also accused of threatening workers with deportation if they told the truth.

Each defendant is charged with forced labor, conspiracy to commit forced labor, alien harboring for financial gain, conspiracy to commit alien harboring and document servitude offenses. Martha Zeferino Jose is additionally charged with visa fraud, and Munoz faces an obstruction charge.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison on each forced labor count, up to 10 years for each count of alien harboring for financial gain, and up to five years for document servitude. Additional penalties apply to the visa fraud and obstruction charges.

U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle for the Eastern District of North Carolina said authorities “do not tolerate abuse of the system to hurt unsuspecting victims of human trafficking.”

The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. Prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina are handling the case.

Anyone with information about human trafficking is encouraged to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.