Five people have been charged this week in Georgia for their roles in an operation that defrauded the U.S.’s temporary worker visa program.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the individuals fraudulently obtained temporary visas and brought workers into the U.S. As part of the scheme, the group allegedly lied about the workers jobs and received improper payments from the workers before obtaining the visas.
The scheme exploited the H-2A visa program, which allows foreign nationals to fill temporary or seasonal agriculture jobs.
“After the workers’ visas had expired, the conspirators enabled them to remain in the United States and even offered to transport them elsewhere in the United States in exchange for additional improper payments,” the DOJ alleged in a news release.
The people charged are Martha Aquino, 61, Evangelina Aquino De Galvan, 49, Julio Cervantes, 38, Marco Cervantes, 41, Juan Felipe Romero-Lopez, 31, who’s in the U.S. illegally from Mexico.
“The H-2A is specifically designed to help farmers fill temporary or seasonal jobs when there is a shortage of domestic labor,” DOJ Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said. “Instead of helping American farmers, these defendants allegedly concocted a scheme to enrich themselves by manipulating the program and smuggling aliens into the country for profit.”
🚨 BREAKING: FEDS JUST SMASHED A MASSIVE H-2A VISA FRAUD RING THAT WAS SMUGGLING HUNDREDS INTO AMERICA FOR PROFIT 🚨
They were supposed to help American farmers fill real labor shortages. Instead, prosecutors say five defendants turned the H-2A farmworker visa program into a cash… pic.twitter.com/gLFQlJ6J1w— CONSTITUTION X 🇺🇸 (@ConstitustionX) September 15, 2026
Aquino, Julio Cervantes, and Marco Cervantes, and Romero-Lopez – who also faces charges for illegal firearm possession – are all in custody, while Aquino De Galvan is at large, the DOJ said.
Aquino, Aquino De Galvan, and Julio Cervantes face charges of visa fraud, conspiring to commit visa fraud, and encouraging illegal entry to the U.S., while Marco Cervantes faces visa fraud and conspiring to commit visa fraud charges and Felipe Romero-Lopez faces a charge of conspiring to commit visa fraud in addition to the firearm charge.
“Their egregious conduct included demanding improper payments, confiscating workers’ identification documents, and using threats or violence to maintain control,” U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito said. “The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General will aggressively investigate those who exploit labor programs and workers for profit. We will continue working with our law-enforcement partners to ensure these individuals are held fully accountable.”
The group is being prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), a partnership between the DOJ and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security targeting human smuggling and trafficking by cartels.
“To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 458 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking,” the news release said.
