By Staff Reporter
iSkyNews.com (ISN) – Published June 13th, 2026
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TAMPA, Fla. — A Mexican national living in the United States illegally has been sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for his role in a multi-state racketeering and forced labor conspiracy that exploited agricultural workers brought to the United States through the H-2A visa program.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, Alexander Villatoro Moreno, 53, also known as "Quichi," of Chiapas, Mexico, was sentenced to nearly six years in prison and three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims.
Federal prosecutors said Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants operated Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH), a farm labor contracting company that recruited workers from Mexico and brought them to the United States between 2015 and 2017 to harvest fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural products.
News Brief Summary
- Alexander Villatoro Moreno was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison.
- Federal prosecutors said he participated in a racketeering and forced labor conspiracy.
- Victims were recruited from Mexico through the H-2A visa program.
- Workers were allegedly charged excessive recruitment fees and misled about wages and working conditions.
- The scheme operated in Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, and North Carolina.
- Workers reportedly labored six to seven days a week for significantly less pay than promised.
- Victims were allegedly threatened with arrest, deportation, and harm to family members in Mexico.
- Investigators said workers' passports were confiscated and many lived in crowded, unsanitary housing conditions.
- Moreno pleaded guilty to conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
- Four co-defendants were previously convicted and sentenced for their roles in the operation.
According to court documents, workers were lured to the United States with promises of fair wages and decent working conditions. Once they arrived, prosecutors say they were subjected to physically demanding agricultural labor while earning far less than they had been promised.
Authorities said the operation relied on multiple forms of coercion to maintain control over workers, including confiscating passports, imposing debts, isolating workers from others, verbal abuse, and threats of arrest, deportation, or violence against family members living in Mexico.
Investigators also alleged that when federal authorities began looking into the operation, Villatoro Moreno helped conceal the scheme by preparing false payroll records and distributing fake reimbursement receipts to make it appear the company was complying with labor laws.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said the victims were deceived and subjected to deplorable conditions for the financial benefit of the conspirators.
The case was investigated by the Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from multiple federal agencies and workers' rights organizations. The Government of Mexico also assisted in Villatoro Moreno's extradition to the United States.
Officials encourage anyone with information regarding human trafficking to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida
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