TAMPA, Florida — Alexander Villatoro Moreno, a 53-year-old known as Quichi, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in federal court.
Villatoro Moreno, along with his co-defendants, operated Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH), a farm labor contracting company that functioned as a criminal enterprise, according to court documents. The group fraudulently recruited Mexican nationals to work in the United States on H-2A agricultural visas, misleading authorities to secure these visas. The workers were charged exorbitant recruitment fees and were misled about their pay, working hours, and conditions, stated the press release.
The defendants used coercive tactics to compel labor, including imposing debts, confiscating passports, and threatening workers with arrest and deportation. They also obstructed a federal investigation by preparing false payroll information and distributing fake reimbursement receipts, according to the press release…