Federal prosecutors say a Michigan couple built a multi-state plumbing operation on the labor of more than 240 undocumented workers while collecting roughly $74 million in revenue. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Moises Orduna-Rios, 36, and Raquel Orduna-Rios, 30, operated Orduna Plumbing Inc. across Michigan, New York, North Carolina and Ohio, employing 253 workers, only six of whom were legally permitted to work in the United States. Investigators allege the couple confiscated workers’ passports, placed them in overcrowded homes and hotel rooms, and communicated instructions on avoiding law enforcement during ongoing immigration concerns.
Border Patrol and ICE agents arrested workers tied to the company in Buffalo, Rochester and Charlotte, discovering one Rochester home where nine undocumented workers were living in a small, sparsely furnished residence. Messaging obtained by investigators shows Moises telling workers to stay inside, limit errands and avoid gatherings, adding, “With all the controversy that is going on, its better to get ready… do not have any gatherings such as barbeques.” A financial review reportedly showed undocumented workers being paid through multiple bank accounts controlled by the defendants.
The couple was released on conditions after an initial court appearance and is scheduled to appear in the Western District of New York on December 2. They face charges including conspiracy, harboring and transporting unauthorized workers, employing more than 10 unauthorized workers in a 12-month period, engaging in a pattern of illegal employment and multiple money-laundering counts. Federal law allows for a penalty of $3,000 per unauthorized worker, which, based on 247 illegal workers, would total $741,000 in potential fines, in addition to a maximum 10-year federal prison sentence.
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