Former farm foreman sentenced for extorting agricultural workers and tax fraud

The pursuing is simply a news merchandise from nan U.S. Attorney’s Office (Idaho).

BOISE – Ernesto Garza, 62, of Alamo, Texas, was sentenced to 27 months successful national situation for extorting H-2A cultivation workers and filing a mendacious taxation return, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced. U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford besides sentenced Garza to 3 years supervised merchandise and ordered Garza to salary $621,724 successful restitution to his galore victims.

According to tribunal records, Garza worked arsenic a supervisor and foreman of workplace workers astatine F.D.C., an cultivation services institution that operates farms passim Idaho, including successful Glenns Ferry. F.D.C. employs H-2A cultivation workers each twelvemonth from astir March to November. While Garza served arsenic supervisor and foreman for nan farm, he prepared and submitted payroll timesheets for nan H-2A workers, but regularly falsified those timesheets by adding other hours and past asked nan susceptible workers to return rate to him for nan other hours.

Between astatine slightest 2014 and 2019, Garza besides charged definite H-2A cultivation workers an unauthorized level interest to activity astatine F.D.C. nether nan H-2A program, pinch nan interest ranging from astir $750 to $2,500. Garza charged nan fees without F.D.C.’s knowledge aliases approval, and nan H-2A cultivation workers paid nan fees to Garza each twelvemonth because they feared that they would beryllium fired aliases not allowed to return to F.D.C. nether nan H-2A programme successful early years if they did not pay. Garza was not permitted to petition aliases cod specified fees nether H-2A cultivation worker rules and regulations.

Between 2013 and 2019, Garza besides deposited astir $493,153 successful unreported income into his individual slope accounts, successful part, from nan extortion described supra arsenic good arsenic a abstracted strategy to defraud nan farm. Garza did not disclose nan further income connected his taxation return for nan years 2013 done 2019, which resulted successful nan filing of mendacious taxation returns.

According to nan U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services, nan H-2A programme allows U.S. employers who meet definite requirements to bring overseas nationals to nan United States to capable impermanent cultivation jobs that cannot different beryllium filled because location are not capable U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and disposable to do nan work.

“Protecting nan integrity of nan H2-A visa programme and ensuring nan lawful curen of workers is important for our cultivation industry, which is simply a bedrock of Idaho’s system and measurement of life,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “I americium grateful for nan activity of nan Idaho State Police, on pinch nan IRS, to clasp this suspect accountable. This lawsuit should nonstop a clear connection that we will not tolerate nan exploitation of cultivation workers successful Idaho.”

“For respective years, Ernesto Garza exploited and extorted H-2A cultivation workers by charging them unlawful fees for individual financial gain. Today’s sentencing sends a clear connection that those who activity to maltreatment nan H-2A programme will beryllium held accountable. We will proceed to collaborate pinch our rule enforcement partners and nan U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to aggressively prosecute fraud involving overseas labour certification programs,” said Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge, Western Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

“Protecting susceptible group and communities will ever beryllium 1 of IRS-CI’s apical priorities, and we will proceed to activity pinch nan U.S. Attorney’s Office to analyse and prosecute these crimes,” said Tom Demeo, Acting Special Agent successful Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office. “Ernesto Garza’s condemnation is an illustration of what group who maltreatment their authority and willfully neglect to study each their income tin expect arsenic a consequence of their crime.’

U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended nan activity of nan Idaho State Police and nan Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and nan U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Mazorol and Robert Firpo prosecuted nan case.