Man says he’s innocent of labor trafficking. Judge says he turned three women into slaves

By accounts shared in court, Efren Alvarez was a hard-working, generous man who got along with nearly everyone, including his neighbors.

But on Monday, the Fresno man was sentenced to eight years in prison in one of California’s first farm labor trafficking cases.

Before his punishment was announced, Efren Alvarez told Fresno Superior Court Judge Jonathan Conklin that he was innocent, saying “if I made a mistake, forgive me, because we are all humans.” His neighbor, Gladys Avakian, 81, and his family and friends vouched for him.

But his three victims asked Conklin to show no mercy, saying Alvarez terrified them. If he didn’t go to prison, the victims said they feared he would find them and harm them and their families.

Alvarez, 53, faced up to 15 years in prison, but Conklin sentenced him to eight years behind bars, saying Alvarez had no prior criminal record and he did not physically harm any of the victims over a 30-day period of criminal behavior.

In August, a jury convicted Alvarez of one felony count of human labor trafficking and three felony counts of extortion. It was the first such conviction ever for Fresno County.

Prosecutor Lynette Gonzales said that Alvarez utilized a complex scheme in which he obtained the victims’ visas, passports and other documents and held them as collateral for a loan. He then threatened to harm the victims and report each of them to immigration officials if they did not continue to work for him.

The victims ultimately sought help from the United Farm Workers, who then reached out to law enforcement.

In court on Monday, the three victims were identified only by their first names – Carmen, Elena and Luigi. The victims, as well as Alvarez, were assisted by a Spanish-language interpreter.

Carmen told the judge that she and the other victims came to Fresno from Mexico to work, only to be “treated like animals” by Alvarez. “He was very demeaning to us,” Carmen said. “We were submissive under his orders.”

Elena said she is mentally scarred from working for Alvarez. “I’m still afraid of this man,” she told the judge. “I believe he is capable of harming us.”

Luigi described Alvarez as an “aggressive, violent man” who threatened the women. “He said nobody could go against him,” she said. “And whoever did, will pay for it.”

Gonzales praised the victims for reporting Alvarez, calling them courageous. She sought a prison term of 11 years for Alvarez, saying he has never accepted responsibility for his criminal behavior.

Fresno defense attorney Nicco Capozzi, however, argued that five years in prison would be sufficient punishment. “By all accounts, he is a hard-working member of society,” Capozzi said.

In announcing the punishment, Conklin said Alvarez “enslaved” the victims who were “impacted by the defendant’s behavior.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2018 at 1:58 PM.