Brunswick, Georgia (WBL) – A Georgia man and two undocumented immigrants have been sentenced to federal prison on separate but related counts. They all confessed to providing slave labor to several farms in South Georgia.
Javier Sanchez Mendoza Jr., 24, of Jesup, Georgia, was sentenced to 360 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit forced labor.
After pleading guilty to forced labor, Aurelio Medina, 42, of Brunswick, Georgia, was sentenced to 64 months in prison.
Yordon Velazquez Victoria, 45, of Brunswick, Georgia, received 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy, US Attorney David H. Estes announced.
Both Mendoza and Medina are Mexican citizens and reside illegally in the United States. After serving their sentence, they face deportation.
“These men worked to ease modern slavery,” US Attorney Estes said. “Our law enforcement partners have uncovered an underworld of human trafficking, and we will continue to identify and bring to justice those who would exploit others whose work fuels their greed.”
The cases are part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force’s “Operation Blooming Onion” investigation.
The operation pursued a large-scale conspiracy to bring agricultural workers from Central America to the United States via the H-2A visa program under fraudulent pretenses in order to profit from their labor by underpaying the workers and keeping them in low standard conditions.
According to court documents and witness testimony, Mendoza admitted that from August 2018 to November 2019 he was the leader of a program to source and provide labor for farms and other businesses in Glynn, Wayne and Pierce counties.
Mendoza recruited more than 500 Central American citizens and unlawfully accused them of obtaining H-2A visas, withheld workers’ identification papers, threatened workers and their families, and forced them to work in poor conditions for little to no pay.
During Mendoza’s sentencing hearing, a victim testified that he selected her from a work team and brought her to him.
According to the victim, Mendoza maintained control by threatening and repeatedly raping her for more than a year. The victim also claimed that Mendoza deceived her into believing that she married him.
In addition, the victim claimed that Mendoza kidnapped her by stabbing her after she tried to escape.
Law enforcement agencies tracked the female victim to Mendoza’s home in Jesup, Georgia, rescued her and discovered a shrine of Santa Muerte “Holy Death” adorned with her hair and blood.
- Santa Meurte’s “Saint Death” tattoo is on Mendoza’s chest.
Close-up of the statue of Sante Meurte with female sacrificial blood smeared on the scythe.
Medina confessed that in Glynn and Effingham counties from April to October 2020 he accused non-native workers of obtaining H-2A visas and withheld their identification documents.
Victoria, a naturalized US citizen, confessed that she helped Medina and allowed Medina to use his name when requesting the use of H-2A workers and helped transport the workers from housing to work. Medina paid Victoria $600 a week for his help.
The South Georgia Forced Labor Investigation will be joined with the United States v. Patricio et al. continued in which 23 people were accused of human trafficking, visa fraud and money laundering.
“Mendoza, Medina and Victoria abused the H-2A program to enrich themselves at the expense of foreign workers and American employers,” said Mathew Broadhurst, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Atlanta Region, US Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to vigorously prosecute those who commit fraud related to foreign work programs.”
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating cases with Customs and Border Protection, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Fraud Detection and National Security, and the US Department of Labor’s Inspector General. The case was also investigated by the Wage and Hour Division, the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, the US Postal Service and the FBI.
The cases are being prosecuted by US Assistant Attorney and Human Trafficking Coordinator Tania D. Groover and US Assistant Attorney and Assistant Criminal Investigation Director E. Greg Gilluly Jr.
