Owners of senior and child care centers charged with human trafficking

[TexasTowelie]

A family of four running several senior and child care centers in San Mateo County has been charged with human trafficking and other labor-related charges, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Friday.

The defendants — Joshua Gamos, 42; Noel Gamos, 40; Gerlen Gamos, 38; and Carlina Gamos, 67 — are accused of holding employees of the Rainbow Bright day-care centers against their will, failing to pay them minimum wage and overtime pay, and abusing them verbally, physically and psychologically.

The alleged abuse took place between 2008 and 2017, according to the complaint.

The charges are the result of a yearlong investigation by the attorney general’s office’s Tax Recovery and Criminal Enforcement Task Force, which involved the collaboration of multiple agencies including the U.S. Department of Labor and law enforcement departments in Daly City, South San Francisco and Pacifica.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-human-trafficking-20180907-story.html

[mr_lebowski]

1. Wait, what?

This sounds like the kind of labor violations we hear about on a regular basis, which is obviously terrible and wrong, but ... referring to it as Human Trafficking?

I think we should be careful to not bandy about that term in a haphazard way ... it's really too important a concept ... JMHO.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. Could be (and I didn't read the la article) that this gang 'imported' illegal labor to ...

work in these places (nursing homes etc.) and required that their cargo pay them an upfront fee, as well as work at one of the facilities that this family operated, at below market wages while charging the government top dollar. Kind of a sneaky way to get workers and get paid for it too. Abuses lasted over 9 years! Wow...