A Santa Maria man who illegally charged Mexican farmworkers thousands of dollars for temporary work visas and then paid them less than promised has been sentenced to a year in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay $165,000 in restitution.
It will be the second time Jorge Vasquez, 65, is locked up for exploiting workers enrolled in the federal H-2A visa program. Six years ago, he spent 12 months behind bars in a separate case involving similar crimes, and court records show Vasquez was still on supervised release from that conviction when the new offenses occurred.
Vasquez’s latest arrest came during a large federal law enforcement operation east of Santa Maria in November 2025 that drew dozens of agents and sparked a confrontation with immigration-rights protesters near Telephone Road and Cambridge Way.
Witnesses reported seeing roughly 60 federal agents and dozens of vehicles at the scene, while protesters gathered to demand information and see warrants. Agents deployed flash-bang devices and tear gas during the fracas.
Federal officials later disclosed the operation was tied to their investigation into Vasquez, who was taken into custody along with four other individuals.
Prosecutors said Vasquez used two agricultural businesses he controlled — Cuyama Valley Farms LLC and JJB Farm LLC — to recruit workers from Mexico through the H-2A visa program.
The program allows agricultural employers to temporarily hire foreign workers when there is not enough domestic labor available. Participating employers and labor contractors are prohibited from charging workers for government approvals, equipment, transportation, or housing.
But according to officials, Vasquez and his co-conspirators charged many of the 162 workers they recruited between $8,000 and $15,000 for their visas. They also deducted from their weekly paychecks $450 for rent and $10 a day for transportation, leaving them with as little as $200 per week.
The visa applications stated JJB Farm employees would be paid $19.50 an hour and Cuyama Valley Farms workers would receive $19.97 an hour. Prosecutors said neither representation was true. JJB Farm employees were instead paid about $16.50 an hour while Cuyama Valley Farms workers received $16 an hour.
Vasquez would also reportedly threaten any worker who wanted to leave their job, telling them he knew people who could make their family’s “heads roll.”
Vasquez’s wife, Gabriella Lopez, was arrested alongside him last November and has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges. Her case remains pending in federal court.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from several other state and federal agencies.
