A Tampa federal case ended with Alexander Villatoro Moreno, 53, aka Quichi, pleading guilty to a RICO conspiracy tied to the exploitation of Mexican H-2A agricultural workers who labored in several states between 2015 and 2017.
Alexander Villatoro Moreno admitted in federal court in Tampa to participating in a racketeering conspiracy that targeted vulnerable seasonal workers brought to the United States on short-term agricultural visas. The indictment grew out of a wider probe that traced how workers were recruited, transported and put to work harvesting fruits, vegetables and other crops. Prosecutors say the scheme used the H-2A program as cover for a criminal enterprise.
Federal filings allege the conspiracy ran from 2015 to 2017 and centered on the recruitment of Mexican nationals for temporary agricultural jobs. Those workers were promised lawful wages and decent conditions but instead faced deception and exploitation once here. The case names multiple defendants who coordinated recruitment and labor placement across state lines.
The operation was run through a contracting company identified as Los Villatoros Harvesting, or LVH, which prosecutors say functioned as the enterprise at the heart of the RICO charge. Villatoro Moreno and associates are accused of misleading the U.S. government to secure H-2A visas for recruits and then charging abusive recruitment fees. Workers were allegedly lied to about pay, hours, conditions and promised reimbursements, then pushed into long, grueling workweeks for far less than what the law required.
According to court documents, the labor these workers provided was physically demanding and scheduled six to seven days each week, yet pay and reimbursements did not reflect legal obligations. The scheme reportedly included inflated or hidden recruitment costs that left workers indebted before they even started. Those financial pressures were central to keeping victims tied to LVH and dependent on the company for survival.
Prosecutors detail coercive tactics used to secure compliance, including creating debt burdens, seizing passports, and forcing workers into overcrowded, unsanitary housing. Victims allegedly endured verbal abuse, threats of arrest or deportation, and isolation from anyone outside LVH staff. The complaint also alleges threats against family members in Mexico to prevent workers from leaving or reporting abuse.
Beyond the labor abuses, Villatoro Moreno is accused of actively trying to conceal the enterprise’s violations during the federal probe by producing false payroll records. Investigators say fake reimbursement receipts were circulated to create the appearance that LVH honored travel and other expense rules. Those obstruction efforts form part of the federal theory that the RICO conspiracy extended to corrupt practices designed to mask criminality.
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Several co-defendants already pleaded guilty for roles in this scheme, and courts have imposed significant sentences and restitution. Bladimir Moreno, identified as the owner of LVH and Alexander’s brother, pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and conspiracy to commit forced labor and was sentenced to 118 months in prison and ordered to pay over $175,000 in restitution. Supervisors Efrain Cabrera Rodas and Christina Gamez pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy offenses and received 41 months and 37 months in prison, respectively, while Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation and was ordered to serve eight months of home detention and pay a $5,500 fine as part of supervised release.
The investigation was led by the Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force with participation from the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Additional support came from the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General and the Wage and Hour Division, as well as the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Community and legal aid groups also assisted investigators with victim outreach and documentation of the alleged abuses.
Authorities say the Government of Mexico, including the Fiscalía General de la República, played a key role in locating and extraditing Villatoro Moreno to the United States, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs coordinated with Mexican law enforcement on the arrest and transfer. The case is being handled by Trial Attorney Matthew Thiman of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section alongside Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilyssa Spergel for the Middle District of Florida, with earlier prosecutorial work credited to Maryan Zhuravitsky of the District of Maryland. The guilty plea adds another chapter to a prosecution that federal officials describe as a coordinated effort to dismantle an enterprise that preyed on migrant farmworkers.
