Estela Gonzalez (middle) with Paralegal Emily Brooks and Attorney Tom Church

For the past year and a half, our firm has been part of a joint defense team representing Efrain and Estela Gonzalez, the husband-and-wife owners of a popular Mexican restaurant, Sabor a Mexico, who were falsely accused of labor trafficking, alien smuggling, and other offenses under federal law. The Government initially charged the Gonzalezes in a 16-count indictment alleging that they brought in illegal immigrants from Mexico, made them work under brutal conditions and for no pay, threatened them with deportation and harm to their family, and sexually assaulted and harassed some of their employees. 

From the beginning, the Gonzalezes adamantly maintained their innocence of these charges. In fact, Efrain and Estela had become aware of the government’s investigation well before their arrest, as there had been rumors that a group of disgruntled former workers from Sabor, most of them illegally here in the U.S., were making false allegations against the Gonzalezes in order to gain legal immigration status that the federal government grants to illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes.

In fact, the rumors were true. Our firm was retained by the Gonzalezes prior to their arrest, and we conducted a vigorous defense investigation that exposed the scheme against them. We interviewed dozens of witnesses, obtained hundreds of pages of financial records, reviewed thousands of text messages, Facebook messages, and found pictures and videos from the social media accounts of the alleged victims. This evidence showed that the alleged victims had been well paid, enjoyed a positive environment at work, and had the opportunity to live the American dream while at Sabor, as evidenced by their vibrant social lives outside of work.

We also filed a motion to depose favorable defense witnesses who knew the alleged victims (and that the alleged victims were lying) but were scheduled to leave the U.S. once their visas departed. That motion was granted, and we had the unusual opportunity to depose witnesses in a criminal case.

Fortunately, we were able to conduct a thorough investigation in this case despite the fact that both of the Gonzalezes were denied bond, something that makes defense investigations much harder. Their pretrial incarceration also gave the Government leverage–a client out on bond is more likely to elect to go to trial, while an incarcerated client may be more willing to cut a deal if it gets them out of jail sooner.

That’s what happened in this case. Last week, we helped secure Estela’s release from federal custody pursuant to a plea deal with the government that required the government to dismiss all of the original charges and allow Estela to receive a time served sentence after she pleaded guilty to hiring illegal immigrants at her restaurant. By all accounts, this was a major win, as it is any time a client or a client’s loved one is released from custody. This outcome was especially notable since the government had flown down a specialized lawyer from the Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Unit in Washington, D.C. specifically for this case.

To be clear, however, this was not a case where we got a “sweetheart” deal for our client based on some technicality. Rather, we forced the government to abandon its initial case by conducting a defense investigation that blew up the government’s case.

The evidence the defense obtained was credible, uncontroverted, and painted a much different picture than the government’s allegations–our investigation exposed the group of disgruntled former employees who were deliberately making false allegations of labor trafficking and exploitation against the Gonzalezes. Due to a shoddy investigation by the government’s agents and the absence of any due diligence, these alleged victims succeeded in fooling the government and obtaining legal immigration status normally reserved for actual victims of crimes. They then used the promise of legal status to recruit others to join in their false allegations against the Gonzalezes.

Confronted by this evidence, and knowing that they would not be able to win their original case at trial, the prosecutors in this case agreed to allow Estela to plead guilty to a much more minor offense–hiring illegal immigrants rather than exploiting them–and be released from custody. She is now back home with her family, where she belongs. Efrain has also accepted a deal to plead to the lesser charge and will be sentenced likely later this year.

The case was covered extensively by the media, which initially parroted the government’s false claims about the Gonzalezes. Fortunately for the Gonzalezes, our firm was able to respond forcefully to the false allegations through interviews with outlets like Univision, which granted Attorney Tom Church an exclusive interview to discuss the case. Of course, much work remains to clear the Gonzalezes’ names, and the next step is to bring Efrain home as soon as possible.

If you or a loved one has been charged with labor trafficking, alien smuggling, or other similar federal offenses, call our firm to speak to one of our experienced, compassionate attorneys. We are ready to fight for you and your family.