Department of Justice Charges Five Individuals in H-2A Visa Fraud and Alien Smuggling Scheme
A superseding indictment has been unsealed in the Southern District of Georgia, charging five defendants with exploiting the H-2A visa program to fraudulently obtain worker visas and smuggle individuals into the United States. The accused, Martha Aquino (also known as Martha Patricia Resendez Sanchez or Marta), Evangelina Aquino De Galvan, Julio Cervantes, Marco Cervantes (also known as Chiquilin), and Juan Felipe Romero-Lopez, allegedly conspired to manipulate the H-2A program. They are accused of misrepresenting workers' employment and residency, demanding improper payments from workers, confiscating identification documents, and using threats or violence. After visas expired, the conspirators reportedly enabled workers to remain in the U.S. and offered transport for additional payments. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva stated that the defendants enriched themselves by manipulating the program and smuggling aliens for profit, rather than assisting American farmers. U.S. Attorney Margaret E. Heap ...
