A pastor and his wife, leaders of a California church called Imperial Valley Ministries (IVM), were sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to what federal prosecutors described as a church labor trafficking scheme that targeted homeless people.
According to Fox News, the head pastor, Victor Gonzalez, was sentenced to six months in prison and six months of house confinement.
Meanwhile, his wife, Susan, received a time-served sentence, both after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit benefits fraud.
The charges that could have resulted in a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison were dropped.
Other defendants in the case also pleaded guilty, and most of them received time-served sentences.
Case
In 2019, Victor Gonzalez and his wife were two of 12 leaders of their church who were charged with various crimes.
These included forced labor, conspiracy, document servitude, and benefits fraud.
On Sept. 10 of that year, they, along with the other defendants, were arrested in El Centro, California, San Diego, California, and Brownsville, Texas.
During the time of the arrests, the leaders of the church were accused of engaging in a scheme where they would lure victims into rehabilitation homes and then coerce them into surrendering their welfare benefits.
According to U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer, the indictment describes a shocking abuse of authority by church officials who exploited homeless individuals who were in a vulnerable state.
This not only restricted their freedom but also stripped them of their dignity.
IVM Operations
IVM is a nondenominational church that operates in El Centro, California, and has approximately 30 affiliated churches across the United States and Mexico.
Some are located in major cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
The Justice Department has stated that IVM also owned three group homes in the El Centro area, one in Calexico, and another in Chula Vista.
Fox News reported that the victims of the church labor trafficking scheme were recruited from locations as far as Texas, with promises of shelter and free food.
The defendants reportedly convinced the victims that they would be able to return home in the future, with assistance from the church to provide them with necessary resources.
The U.S. Attorney's Office claimed that instead of fulfilling their promises, the defendants in the church labor trafficking scheme took advantage of their victims.
They stole their welfare benefits and imposed strict rules on them, such as not discussing topics unrelated to religion and reading only the Holy Bible.
The victims were warned that if they broke any of these rules, they would face discipline.
The church claimed that its group homes were meant to "restore" drug addicts, and the money raised was intended to fund the opening of new churches in other cities.
However, the Justice Department pointed out that many of the victims did not require rehabilitation.
According to the indictment, the victims were allegedly confined to group homes, some of which had their windows nailed shut.
The indictment in the church labor trafficking case also alleges that the defendants took the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards of their victims.
They also improperly used their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, giving them to ineligible persons or forbidding victims from seeking outside employment.
When the victims wished to leave, the church leaders reportedly refused to return the EBT cards and personal property.
Instead, they coerced them to stay by making threats, such as taking away their children, not providing transportation back home, or warning that their families would reject them.
The defendants also meted out punishments, such as withholding food, for any rule violations, as per the indictment.
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