Executive Summary
- Three operators of Las Princesas Corporation were indicted for trafficking Mexican workers and forced labor.
- Allegations include passport confiscation, wage theft, and obstruction of a federal investigation.
- A separate civil class-action suit involving Tankard Nurseries was settled in December 2025 with no admission of wrongdoing.
- Tankard Nurseries has since moved to direct hiring, severing ties with third-party labor contractors.
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, Va. — Three individuals associated with a farm labor contracting company have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of trafficking Mexican agricultural workers into forced labor operations across Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the charges following an investigation into alleged abuses within the H-2A temporary agricultural visa program.
According to federal prosecutors, Martha Zeferino Jose, along with her husband and adult son, operated Las Princesas Corporation, a labor contracting firm based in Washington, North Carolina. The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleges that the defendants recruited workers from Mexico under the guise of legitimate employment but subsequently subjected them to forced labor. The DOJ states that the accused harbored the workers in the United States after their visas expired for financial gain.
The criminal complaint details a pattern of coercion allegedly employed by the defendants. Prosecutors assert that Las Princesas charged workers significant fees to enter the U.S. and confiscated their passports and visas to prevent them from leaving. The indictment further alleges that workers were forced to labor in degrading conditions with excessive hours, denied adequate breaks and water, provided improper housing, and paid inadequate wages. When the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division attempted to investigate, Jose and her partner allegedly obstructed proceedings by temporarily returning documents and instructing workers to lie to investigators under threat of deportation.
In a separate but related legal matter, a federal class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against Las Princesas and Tankard Nurseries was settled in December 2025. The lawsuit, filed by four migrant workers, alleged labor rights violations including wage theft and restriction of movement. While Tankard Nurseries, a client of Las Princesas, was named in the civil suit under a “joint employer” liability theory, the company strenuously denied any knowledge of the alleged trafficking or abuses carried out by the labor contractor.
Legal representatives for Tankard Nurseries emphasized that the company had no role in the recruitment or immigration arrangements of the contracted workers. Following the settlement, which was agreed upon to avoid further litigation, Tankard Nurseries stated it has ceased contracting with external agricultural labor providers and now relies solely on directly hired employees. The DOJ criminal indictment does not name Tankard Nurseries as a defendant.
If convicted, the defendants in the criminal case face maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for each count of forced labor and conspiracy to commit forced labor. Jose also faces charges of visa fraud, while her co-defendants face additional charges for obstruction of justice. It is important to note that an indictment is merely a formal accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Regulatory and Judicial Implications
This case highlights the persistent vulnerabilities within the H-2A visa program, specifically regarding the oversight of third-party labor contractors who act as intermediaries between foreign workers and U.S. farms. The indictment signals a continued aggressive posture by federal authorities against entities that exploit visa dependencies to coerce labor. Furthermore, the civil litigation involving Tankard Nurseries serves as a significant case study for agricultural enterprises regarding “joint employer” risks, reinforcing the necessity for rigorous due diligence when outsourcing labor to ensure compliance with federal human trafficking and fair labor standards.
