A Simi Valley couple was arrested Feb. 26 on charges of exploiting asylum-seeking immigrants from Latin America by coercing them into performing domestic labor and handing over wages earned outside the home, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
According to a federal indictment, Carolina Rojas, 50, and her husband Jairo John Gastelo, 45, operated their scheme from approximately November 2021 to March 2024. The couple allegedly worked with others to recruit foreign nationals from Latin American, offering assistance with travel and finances to enter the country.
Once in the U.S., Rojas helped the victims travel to her and Gastelo’s home in Simi Valley. They reportedly forced the victims to provide around-the-clock childcare for a child with special needs and perform other domestic labor. The victims allegedly were not paid for their services and instead told that the work was performed in exchange for rent at the home.
In some cases, Rojas arranged for the victims to work at a nearby McDonald’s, where she had an arrangement with the manager to hire the individuals, prosecutors said, adding Rojas and Gastelo would then collect the victims’ wages as repayment for their smuggling fee debt.
Rojas is also accused of helping victims obtain fraudulent Social Security cards and permanent resident cards in order to secure employment. She would bring the victims to a check-cashing business in order to receive their paychecks.
Information on the number of suspected victims was not available.
Rojas and Gastelo were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor and four counts of forced labor. Rojas was also charged with an additional four counts of trafficking related to forced labor, three counts of unlawfully providing immigration documents, one count of encouraging and facilitating illegal entry and one count of witness tampering.
If convicted, Rojas and Gastelo face up to five years for conspiracy to commit forced labor and a maximum of 20 years for each charge of forced labor. Rojas faces additional penalties that could add decades to her sentence.