Federal prosecutors call it ”modern day slavery" in central Ohio: workers, some underage, being forced to work at local farms, without pay.
And if they complained, investigators say, they were threatened or physically punished.
The charges involve ten victims- eight of them underage- brought to Ohio from Guatemala, with the promise of work and attending school in the United States.
Prosecutors say instead of opportunity, these victims were exploited, threatened, and treated like property.
The US Attorney’s Office says the human trafficking operation was run by a third-party contractor hired by Trillium Farms to provide workers. That contract has since been terminated.
The indictment goes on to state that the defendants had to work physically demanding jobs at Trillium Farms for up to 12 hours a day.
The work included cleaning chicken coops, loading and unloading crates of chickens, de-beaking chickens, and vaccinating chickens, according to the indictment.
Those contractors would find workers, get them to and from the job, and supervise their work.
"These farms around here, they send vans out here still. They have van drivers come around, and everybody loads up on the vans and goes to work,” said Scott Douglas, a resident at the Oakridge Estates mobile home park.
He says the first sign of trouble came just before Christmas, when federal agents descended on the homes of his neighbors.
"They came in here with city buses and lots of cops and border patrol and FBI, and served their warrants. They rounded everybody up."
Federal officials say they uncovered a ring involving forced labor- with underage victims that were deceived, isolated, and threatened.
They say the victims were housed and controlled in several trailers in the park, driven to work, and then brought home by the defendants.
When one underage victim complained about not receiving his paycheck, they say he punished by moving him into a trailer that was unsafe and unsanitary, with no bed, no heat, no working toilet, and full of vermin.
"This is nothing more than a case of modern day slavery,” said Steven Dettelbach, US Attorney for Ohio’s Northern District.
He says the victims, as young as 14 and 15 years old, were kept in line by threats of violence, even death, against them and their loved ones back home.
"They prey on them. And that's what happened in this case, that's what happens in many cases. They prey on these individuals, they exploit their vulnerabilities. And it's always for nothing more than to earn a buck, which is really one of the most horrible parts of it."
Trillium Farms declined 10tv’s request for an interview, but provided us with this statement:
"When federal officials made us aware of a possible employment issue with one of our contractors, we immediately cooperated and assisted in the investigation. That work led to the swift identification and same-day rescue of the employees believed to be working against their will."
Dettelbach says the investigation into this ring- and who else might have been involved or aware of it- is ongoing.
Prosecutors identify the suspects as Aroldo Castillo-Serrano, 33, of Pecos, Texas, Conrado Salgado Soto, 52, of Raymond, Ohio, Ana Angelica Pedro, 21, of Columbus and Juan Pablo Duran Jr., 23, of Marysville. Authorities are still searching for Duran Jr.
Castillo-Serrano, Salgado Soto, and Pedro are charged with a labor-trafficking conspiracy. Castillo-Serrano is also charged with 10 individual counts of forced labor; Salgado Soto and Pedro Juan are charged in eight of those 10 counts. Castillo-Serrano and Salgado Soto are also charged with harboring illegal aliens, as is an additional defendant.
Each of the 11 trafficking counts and the witness tampering count carries a sentence of up to 20 years. Each count of harboring illegal aliens and lying to the FBI carries a sentence of up to 5 years.