A Hispanic couple from California has been arrested for smuggling and exploiting Latin American asylum seekers. According to a federal report, the defendants housed the undocumented immigrants in their Simi Valley home, where they forced them to perform domestic labor and hand over money earned from outside jobs.
Carolina Rojas, 50, and her husband, Jairo John Gastelo, 45, have been charged with multiple forced labor offenses. Rojas was reportedly more deeply involved in the scheme and received additional charges for witness tampering, inducing illegal entry, and "giving immigration documents to unauthorized persons."
"Today's indictment shows the great lengths that the defendants went through to enrich themselves off smuggled aliens," said HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang. "Labor trafficking continues to be an ongoing problem in our communities."
According to the indictment, Rojas and Gastelo induced foreign nationals from Latin American countries to come into the United States. The couple helped smuggle their victims into the country and subsequently forced them to perform domestic labor in their Simi Valley residence.
Rojas pretended to help asylum seekers by arranging their travel and offering them so-called 'financial assistance.' Once they arrived in California, she 'helped' them reach Simi Valley, where she and her husband later charged them for their smuggling services and exploited them.
The victims were forced to provide childcare and domestic labor in exchange for rent. Additionally, Rojas made illicit arrangements with a local McDonald's manager to employ the undocumented immigrants using fraudulent social security cards. The couple then collected their victims' paychecks as "repayment" for their smuggling fee debt.
The defendants' trial is set for April 8. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in federal prison. Rojas could receive additional sentences: up to 20 years per forced labor trafficking charge, 10 years per charge for providing immigration documents to unauthorized persons, 10 years for encouraging illegal entry, and 20 years for witness tampering.
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