BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Three men were sentenced on Thursday for crimes relating to human trafficking. They forced immigrants into labor for little or no pay - and one victim said she was sexually assaulted, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Georgia.
Javier Sanchez Mendoza Jr., 24, admitted in court that he was the ringleader from August 2018 to November 2019 but worked with two others, Aurelio Medina, 42, and Yordon Velazquez Victoria, 45.
“Mendoza, Medina and Victoria misused the H-2A program in order to enrich themselves at the expense of foreign workers and American employers,” Mathew Broadhurst, an official with the U.S. Department of Labor, said.
Mendoza said he charged over 500 people from Central America, promising to get H-2A visas granted for agriculture work.
Once the people moved into the States and got to Mendoza, officials said he took the workers' identification papers, ultimately threatening them and their families. This blackmailing was used to get immigrants to work for Mendoza at low rates or free.
Mendoza said he operated this out of Glynn, Wayne and Pierce counties.
“The United States abolished slavery and involuntary servitude over 156 years ago, yet these men engaged in the heinous crime of forced labor and chose to exploit their fellow human beings for profit,” Philip Wislar, with the FBI's Atlanta office, said.
One victim who testified against Mendoza said he selected her from another work crew, according to a release. Shortly after she arrived in Georgia from Mexico, he moved her into his home.
She testified, the release said, that he threatened, intimidated and raped her repeatedly for over a year - and that Mendoza tried to force her to believe they were married.
When she tried to escape, officials said Mendoza kidnapped her at knifepoint while she was babysitting.
They were able to find her at Mendoza's mobile home in Jessup. He was charged with aggravated assault relating to that incident.
From April to October of 2020, Medina worked out of Glynn and Effingham counties; the release said charging people out of the county to receive visas and also withholding documents.
Victoria worked with the two by allowing Medina to use his name to apply to use H-2A workers, officials said. He also transported the workers from housing to work and was paid $600 a week.
All three were sentenced on Thursday and will serve the following time in prison:
- Mendoza is serving 360 months
- Medina is serving 64 months
- Victoria is serving 15 months
Officials said Mendoza and Medina would be deported to Mexico after their sentence.
“These defendants are being held accountable for the horrors of human and labor trafficking that they inflicted upon their victims in the name of profit,” said Katrina Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama.
The case is now a part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. The release said they identify, disrupt and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
