TAMPA, Fla. — Alexander Villatoro Moreno, a 53-year-old illegal alien from Chiapas, Mexico, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a racketeering conspiracy that used fraud and coercion to force Mexican H-2A agricultural workers into labor across Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, and North Carolina between 2015 and 2017.
Villatoro Moreno, also known as “Quichi,” and his co-defendants operated Los Villatoros Harvesting, a farm labor contracting company that functioned as a criminal enterprise. They fraudulently recruited Mexican nationals on short-term H-2A agricultural visas, charged exorbitant recruitment fees, and lied about wages, hours, working conditions, and expense reimbursements. Once in the United States, the workers were compelled to perform physically demanding agricultural labor six to seven days a week for far less pay than they were legally owed. The defendant was also ordered to 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.”
The conspirators used coercive tactics including confiscating workers’ passports, imposing debts, subjecting workers to crowded and unsanitary living conditions, verbally abusing and humiliating them, threatening arrest and deportation, isolating them from anyone outside the company, and threatening physical harm to workers’ family members in Mexico. When federal investigators closed in, Villatoro Moreno obstructed the probe by helping prepare false payroll records and distributing fake reimbursement receipts to conceal 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.”
Villatoro Moreno pleaded guilty to conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. His four co-defendants previously pleaded guilty. His brother Bladimir Moreno, a Mexican national who owned LVH, pleaded guilty in 2022 to RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to commit forced labor and was sentenced to 118 months in prison with over $175,000 in restitution. Co-defendant Efrain Cabrera Rodas, an illegal alien from Mexico, received 41 months, while Christina Gamez, another LVH supervisor, received 37 months. Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation and was sentenced 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, and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Mexico’s Fiscalía General de la República provided significant assistance in extraditing Villatoro Moreno to the United States. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilyssa Spergel for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Matthew Thiman of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.