PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — A man federal prosecutors say helped run a forced labor scheme that exploited Mexican farmworkers across the Southeast is now back in Florida to face charges, after being extradited from Mexico in a case built by a Palm Beach County-based trafficking task force.
Alexander Villatoro Moreno, also known as “Quichi,” 53, made his first appearance in federal court after Mexican authorities apprehended and extradited him to the United States, according to a Justice Department news release. Villatoro Moreno is charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, conspiracy to commit forced labor, conspiracy to obstruct proceedings before federal agencies, and one count of forced labor. The conduct is alleged to have occurred between September 2015 and December 2017.
Prosecutors say Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants fraudulently recruited Mexican nationals to lawfully enter the United States on H-2A seasonal agricultural visas. According to the indictment, they lied to workers about how much they would be paid, the number of hours they would work, the conditions they would face in the fields, and whether they would be reimbursed for recruitment fees and other expenses tied to getting the jobs. They then misled U.S. authorities to secure valid H-2A visas for those workers under false pretenses, the Justice Department said in its announcement.
Once the workers arrived in the United States, Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants allegedly compelled their labor and services at farms across the southeastern United States. The indictment describes long hours of physically demanding agricultural work while the workers were paid far less than what they were legally owed.
The scheme went further than underpaying workers, according to federal officials. Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants are accused of taking the workers’ passports to keep them from leaving, warning that family members back in Mexico could be harmed if they did not comply, and threatening them with arrest and deportation if they resisted.
When officials began digging into the case, Villatoro Moreno allegedly tried to cover the operation’s tracks. Prosecutors say he distributed fake reimbursement receipts to workers to make it appear that Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH) — the farm labor contractor he helped manage — had reimbursed them for travel-related expenses, even when it had not.
The investigation was led by the Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Justice Department. The task force received support from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and several legal services and worker-advocacy groups that assist farmworkers.
Villatoro Moreno is the fifth person tied to the case. Four co-defendants have already admitted their roles and were sentenced in 2022, underscoring how long this Palm Beach County-centered investigation has stretched across multiple administrations, from the first alleged offenses to the latest extradition.
According to federal prosecutors, Villatoro Moreno’s brother, Bladimir Moreno, owned LVH and pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and conspiracy to commit forced labor. He was sentenced to 118 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $175,000 in restitution to the victims.
Three LVH supervisors also pleaded guilty. Efrain Cabrera Rodas and Christina Gamez admitted to conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and were sentenced to 41 months and 37 months in prison, respectively, the Justice Department said in its release. Another supervisor, Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation and was sentenced to eight months of home detention and a $5,500 fine, to be paid over 24 months of supervised release.
The Government of Mexico, including the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR), provided significant assistance in the extradition, working with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure Villatoro Moreno’s arrest and transfer to the United States, according to the same federal summary.
If convicted on the current charges, Villatoro Moreno faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Federal authorities are using the case to remind the public that help is available for potential trafficking victims and those with information about similar schemes. Anyone with information about human trafficking is asked to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. The hotline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. More information is available at www.humantraffickinghotline.org, and details on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
