He lived in luxury while enslaving people from his hometown to work for his business
A Vashon Island landscaping company owner who presented himself as an upstanding businessman was instead smuggling people across the U.S.-Mexican border, forcing them into servitude and abusing them while he lived a lavish lifestyle, a jury in U.S. District Court in Seattle decided Wednesday.
It took less than two days for a jury to convict Jesus Ruiz-Hernandez, 45, of 21 federal felonies relating to human trafficking, forced labor, money laundering and transporting and harboring people without status in the U.S.
“For years, Ruiz-Hernandez ensured a steady pipeline of workers for his landscaping business…,” U.S. prosecutors said. “He used their undocumented status and inability to speak English to prey on them.”
Ruiz-Hernandez, who also went by Christo Jesus Escobar Solares, lured victims from his hometown of Vista Hermosa in the Mexican state of Michoacan with the promise of a better life. He required his victims to put up their family properties as collateral and temporarily relinquish parental rights, according to court documents.
Then, using hired smugglers, Ruiz-Hernandez brought the victims to the U.S. and put them to work for his company, Brothers Landscaping. It later changed its name to Brother Landscape Vashon.
“He then charged the victims exorbitant fees for rent, food, and other expenses, housed them both in his home and worker properties and held ever increasing debts over their heads,” the U.S. District Attorney said in a press release.
Ruiz-Hernandez forced one victim to work without pay and sexually abused him. In total, Ruiz-Hernandez was convicted of exploiting the labor of seven people who were not legally in the U.S.
Ruiz-Hernandez presented himself as an upstanding and hardworking businessman on Vashon Island, the U.S. Attorney said. By exploiting the workers, he and his family were able to live a lavish lifestyle for years.
Customers were unwitting dupes in the human trafficking and money laundering scheme, the U.S. Attorney said.
During the trial, it was revealed that Ruiz-Hernandez and his brothers had deposited more than $1.5 million in customer checks between 2017 and 2022. They were able to purchase two real estate parcels on Vashon. The properties will be forfeited to the government.
District Judge James Robart set sentencing for April 30. Ruiz-Hernandez could face decades in prison.
