An Edinburg couple has been served with sentences after they admitted to benefiting from the forced labor of a victim — an act that facilitated their own employment and livelihood, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas revealed in a statement.
Eduardo Javier Gomez, aged 32, was handed a 70-month prison sentence by U.S. District Chief Judge Randy Crane, while his former partner, 42-year-old Margarita Alvarez, received two years of probation. Gomez is also required to serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term. According to a Department of Justice release, the couple forced the victim to work without payment for two weeks in 2021, which included labor at a fireworks stand operated by Gomez.
The case came to light after law enforcement discovered that the victim had been illegally smuggled into the Rio Grande Valley and was subsequently being held against her will by Gomez. The latter even attempted to extort additional money from the victim's family in exchange for moving her further north. After the victim's family failed to pay, the couple confiscated her phone and coerced her to work as a nanny and housekeeper in their home, also forcing her to work at Gomez's fireworks stand.
"They never paid her," the statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office elucidated. Authorities were able to swiftly locate and rescue the victim just two days after the case came to their attention. Gomez is currently in custody and will soon be transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, officials confirmed.
The investigation into this case was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexa D. Parcell, Sherri Zack, and Kim Leo prosecuted the case.
