September 21, 2024 Sandra Kinney # Former Farm Foreman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Extorting H-2A Agricultural Workers and Tax Fraud
USAO Idaho Press Release: U.S. vs. Ernesto Garza (SOUTHERN)
BOISE – Ernesto Garza, 62, of Alamo, Texas, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for extorting H-2A agricultural workers and filing a false tax return, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also sentenced Garza to three years supervised release and ordered Garza to pay $621,724 in restitution to his many victims.
According to court records, Garza worked as a supervisor and foreman of farm workers at F.D.C., an agricultural services company that operates farms throughout Idaho, including in Glenns Ferry. F.D.C. employs H-2A agricultural workers each year from approximately March to November. While Garza served as supervisor and foreman for the farm, he prepared and submitted payroll timesheets for the H-2A workers, but regularly falsified those timesheets by adding extra hours and then asked the vulnerable workers to return cash to him for the extra hours…