This browser does not support the Video element.
HOUSTON - A federal court in San Antonio handed down a nearly 20-year prison sentence to a Cuban man who ran a multi-state labor trafficking operation that forced smuggled women into working at strip clubs to pay off debts.
Yoirlan Tome-Rojas, 46, pleaded guilty on June 3 to three counts of labor trafficking and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez to 17-and-a-half years in federal prison, with the sentences running concurrently.
What we know:
Tome-Rojas, a Cuban immigrant, helped transport three adult women from Cuba to the United States. He covered the costs of their flights, drivers, hotels, and coyotes to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, but then charged each woman with a travel debt of up to $50,000.
To pay off their debts, the women were forced to work in strip clubs seven days a week. Tome-Rojas held control over the victims, taking all of their earnings and refusing to let them leave or stop working. He added to their debt by including charges for food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Over a three-month period, two of the women were only credited with paying around $1,000 toward their debt.
During their time in his custody, Tome-Rojas moved the women across state lines to work in various clubs in Indiana, Detroit, Michigan, and San Antonio. Throughout the ordeal, the women feared for their own physical safety and for the safety of their families remaining in Cuba.
The Source: Information from this article was provided by U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas and ICE Homeland Security Investigations.