PASO ROBLES
Local couple to plead guilty in human trafficking case
Posted: May 6, 2011 11:36 AM by Kelly Orsini, KSBY News
Updated: May 6, 2011 9:49 PM
The Paso Robles couple accused of smuggling people from the Philippines to the area and forcing them to work at their senior care homes is expected to enter guilty pleas Friday afternoon in a Los Angeles federal courtroom.
Under the plea agreement, the couple faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. They may also have to pay a $250,000 fine and restitution, estimated to be between $500,000 and $737,190.
Maximino Morales and his wife, Melinda Morales were arrested in March of 2010 and charged with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens.
FBI agents raided four facilities in Paso Robles where investigators say the Filipino nationals were forced to work 24-hour shifts for as many as seven days per week with little pay. Investigators say the workers lived in the couple's care facilities and some of them slept in a closet, on a sofa, and in an unheated garage.
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