A federal grand jury has indicted two Santa Maria Valley residents on felony conspiracy and mail fraud charges, but it’s not the first time Jorge Vasquez has been accused of crimes linked to exploiting agricultural workers.

Vasquez, 65, and 62-year-old Gabriela Lopez (also spelled Gabriella in some court documents) were named in the Nov. 25 indictment charging them with four felony counts, including conspiracy and mail fraud.

Vasquez pleaded not guilty in federal court Thursday during an arraignment hearing. A trial tentatively has been scheduled for Jan. 20 before U.S. District Judge John Walter in Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The indictment came days after federal Homeland Security Investigations agents raided a property east of Santa Maria, taking at least four people into custody. That raid occurred at land on Cambridge Way off Telephone Road.

The allegations center on the H-2A seasonal farmworker program, with the two defendants accused of charging potential visa recipients between $7,500 and $15,000. However, the defendants allegedly claimed on forms sent via FedEx and UPS to the government that they had not received payments. 

To bring workers to the United States under the H-2A program, employers must complete several steps beforehand. 

“The H-2A program included various protections intended to protect domestic workers from negative effects on wages or working conditions and to protect the foreign workers from exploitation,” the indictment said. 

Specifically, employers cannot charge the H-2A visa recipients for visa costs, work supplies, or employer-provided housing or transportation.

Once the H-2A workers were in the United States, they allegedly charged the employees for transportation and housing. 

They also paid lower salaries than initially promised, the indictment said.

Additionally, employees seeking to leave were ordered to pay, with one told in July to hand over $5,000, according to the indictment. 

The incidents began in 2023 and continued into this year, according to the indictment.  

Federal labor investigators said seven petitions for foreign workers were filed for Cuyama Valley Farms LLC and JJB Farm LLC, resulting in the approval of at least 163 known H-2A visas from September 2023 through this fall.

It isn’t the first time Vasquez has faced similar charges. In 2018, a federal grand jury indicted him for conspiracy, mail fraud, false swearing in an immigration matter and fraud in foreign labor contracting. 

For a plea agreement in 2019, Vasquez admitted charging visa recipients between $1,500 and $3,000, and didn’t inform them that they would be required to pay for food, housing and transportation. 

In 2020, he was sentenced to 12 months in prison plus three years of supervised released. He also was ordered to pay $135,388 to the workers he exploited, according to federal court documents.

Vasquez and Lopez face other legal troubles in Santa Barbara County Superior Court. They are named in an October civil case for an unlawful detainer for the property at 1956 Cambridge Way, the site of the November raid. 

The pair are accused of not vacating the property as demanded by the owner, who seeks at least $89,846 for unpaid rent plus another $167 per day time at the property after Sept. 30.

However, their attorney contends that Vasquez and Lopez were not tenants and have “an ownership interest in the property.”

A mandatory settlement conference and possible trial for the property dispute have been rescheduled for later this month in Santa Maria.