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A 53-year-old Oahu woman was charged May 17 with allegedly tricking a man into working for more than eight years and keeping his ID so he couldn’t leave.
Attorney General Anne E. Lopez announced the charges against Oahu farm operator Anita Valdez in a news release Thursday.
From January 1, 2015 through April 6, 2023, Valdez allegedly executed “one plan and continuous course of conduct” and “intentionally and knowingly” obtained by fraud a man for “labor or services” to keep him employed , the complaint said.
Valdez allegedly used deception to create a false impression with the trafficked worker. She also allegedly withheld the worker’s “government-issued identity documents” with the intention of restricting his freedom of movement.
The case was indicted by the Attorney General’s Special Branch
Investigation and Prosecution Division following an investigation by agents from the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Valdez was arrested Wednesday by Honolulu police officers.
“Labor trafficking is an incredibly serious crime,” Lopez said in a statement. “I appreciate the work of our federal partners in investigating employment crimes here in Hawaii. My office will always stand ready to assist our federal, state and provincial partners in prosecuting those who take advantage of vulnerable people.”
Labor trafficking in the first degree is a Class A felony, punishable by 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
“An important part of the mission of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of
The Inspector General must investigate allegations of labor trafficking involving the use of coercion or force. We will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, Homeland Security Investigations and our other law enforcement partners in Hawaii to investigate these types of allegations,” said Quentin Heiden, Special Agent in Charge for the Western Region. US Department of
Labor Office of Inspector General said in a statement.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline receives tips about situations involving sex trafficking, labor trafficking and ‘situations where the type of human trafficking
may be unknown or unspecified,” according to the organization’s website.
In 2020 and 2019, the hotline identified six cases of labor trafficking and six possible locations responsible for it each year.
“Labor trafficking is modern slavery and deprives victims of their freedom and dignity. HSI will remain vigilant in identifying and combating this insidious crime,” said Lucia Cabral, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Dearmas said in a statement.
