TAMPA — A 53-year-old illegal alien from Chiapas, Mexico, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for his role in a multi-state racketeering conspiracy that used fraud and coercion to force Mexican agricultural workers into grueling labor across Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia and North Carolina.
Alexander Villatoro Moreno, also known as “Quichi,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act for his part in operating Los Villatoros Harvesting, a farm labor contracting company that between 2015 and 2017 fraudulently recruited Mexican nationals on H-2A agricultural visas and compelled them to work six to seven days a week for far less pay than they were legally owed. In addition to the prison term, Villatoro Moreno was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the victims.
“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.”
Court documents detail a systematic scheme in which Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants charged workers exorbitant recruitment fees, confiscated their passports, subjected them to crowded and unsanitary living conditions, and threatened workers with arrest, jail time and deportation. Conspirators also threatened to physically harm the workers’ family members in Mexico if they failed to comply. When federal investigators closed in, Villatoro Moreno helped prepare false payroll records and distributed fake reimbursement receipts to conceal the underpayments.
“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.”
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the 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.”
Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations Miami said the sentence “sends a clear message that those who exploit vulnerable workers and engage in forced labor will face serious consequences. We are committed to protecting workers, safeguarding the integrity of the H-2A program, and relentlessly pursuing those who manipulate the immigration system.”
Villatoro Moreno’s four co-defendants previously pleaded guilty. 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 after pleading guilty to RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to commit forced labor. LVH supervisors Efrain Cabrera Rodas, an illegal alien from Mexico, and Christina Gamez received sentences of 41 months and 37 months, respectively, after pleading guilty to RICO conspiracy. A fourth supervisor, Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation and was sentenced in 2022 to eight months of home detention and a $5,500 fine over 24 months of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the FBI, HSI and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and several legal aid organizations. Mexico’s Fiscalía General de la República provided significant assistance in extraditing Villatoro Moreno to the United States.