Bladimir Moreno, 55, pleaded guilty in federal court in Tampa, Florida, to charges of conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and conspiracy to commit forced labor. A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida had previously returned a six-count indictment against multiple defendants for their roles in a federal racketeering conspiracy that victimized Mexican H-2A workers who, between 2015 and 2017, had worked in the United States harvesting fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products.
“The scheme these defendants employed trapped the victims through fear of serious harm if they did not continue to toil away for the defendants’ profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to combating human trafficking in all its forms, including prosecuting agricultural employers who break the law to subject their vulnerable migrant farm workers to forced labor.”
“Forcing individuals to work against their will using abusive and coercive tactics is not only unconscionable but illegal,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to work with our human trafficking task forces to stamp out these illegal practices throughout our district and state.”
According to court documents, Moreno owned, operated and managed Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH), a farm labor contracting company,...
On 23 March 2026, US President Donald Trump posted on a social media platform, Truth Social, that Washington and Tehran were engaged in productive negotiations. Within an hour, oil prices fell by n...