A Simi Valley couple was arrested Feb. 26 on charges they abused asylum-seeking immigrants from Latin American countries by forcing them to do domestic labor around the house and hand over money they earned working outside the home.
Carolina Rojas, 50, and her husband Jairo John Gastelo, 45, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor and four counts of forced labor.
Rojas was separately charged with an additional four counts of trafficking with respect to forced labor, three counts of giving immigration documents to unauthorized persons, one count of encouraging and inducing illegal entry, and one count of witness tampering.
“As described in the indictment, the defendants smuggled individuals into the United States and exploited them for their own financial gain,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally. “The enforcement of our immigration laws is critical to preventing forced labor and human trafficking. We will hold accountable those that violate these laws.”
During initial appearances Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, a federal magistrate judge ordered them detained and scheduled a trial for April 8.
“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 and HSI remains committed to holding traffickers accountable for their deplorable actions.”
According to the indictment, no later than November 2021 and continuing until at least March 2024, Rojas and Gastelo allegedly worked with each other and others to recruit foreign nationals from specifically Latin American countries to come to the United States for the purpose of providing forced labor upon arrival to their house in Simi Valley.
Rojas allegedly facilitated the foreign nationals’ entry into the United States by providing initial financial assistance and by making travel arrangements for each victim. Once successfully in the U.S., Rojas helped the victims get transportation to California and eventually to Rojas and Gastelo’s house in Simi Valley.
After arriving at the house, the defendants allegedly forced the victims to provide around-the-clock childcare for a child with special needs and perform other domestic labor. The victims received no pay for their services and were told by Rojas and Gastelo that their work was performed in exchange for rent at the home.
The defendants allegedly charged the foreign nationals a fee for being smuggled into the U.S. In some cases, Rojas connected victims with a nearby McDonald’s in Simi Valley where she had an arrangement with the manager to hire individuals she brought to work there. Rojas and Gastelo would then collect money from the victims’ jobs as repayment for their smuggling fee debt.
The owner of the referenced McDonald’s said they will be investigating these allegations.
“These are incredibly serious allegations that we will further investigate. If true, this conduct goes against the core values of my organization and we will take appropriate action,” said local McDonald’s Owner/Operator, Lisa Murphy.
Before getting outside-the-house employment, Rojas allegedly helped procure fraudulent social security cards and permanent resident cards for the victims to use when seeking jobs. Rojas would then bring the victims to a check cashing company, where they could cash their checks in order to pay Rojas and Gastelo.
If convicted, Rojas and Gastelo face a statutory maximum of five years for conspiracy to commit forced labor and a statutory maximum of 20 years for each charge of forced labor.
Rojas faces an additional statutory maximum of 20 years for each charge of trafficking with respect to forced labor, a statutory maximum of 10 years for each charge of giving immigration documents to unauthorized persons, a statutory maximum of 10 years for encouraging and inducing illegal entry, and a statutory maximum of 20 years for witness tampering.
