A federal grand jury has charged a Wisconsin couple with forcing seven undocumented immigrant boys and young men to work for them through threats and abuse of legal processes, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.
Luis Abreu, 50, and his wife Cybell Abreu, 50, face multiple counts of forced labor and conspiracy to commit forced labor for allegedly coercing the victims to perform labor and services between September 2015 and March 2018. Luis Abreu faces additional charges of harboring undocumented immigrants for financial gain.
Pattern of alleged exploitation
Federal prosecutors allege the couple used “threats of serious harm and abuse of the law and legal process” to control their victims, said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The indictment claims Luis Abreu knowingly harbored the seven victims, who were unlawfully present in the United States, to benefit financially from their labor.
Both defendants made their initial court appearance Monday before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Wisconsin.
Legal consequences
If convicted, the forced labor charges carry severe penalties, with each count punishable by up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and fines up to $250,000.
The additional harboring charges against Luis Abreu each carry maximum penalties of 10 years imprisonment when committed for financial gain.
Homeland Security Investigations in Milwaukee conducted the investigation, with prosecutors from both the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin and the Justice Department’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit handling the case.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
