Santa Maria man exploited farmworkers in visa fraud scheme

August 31, 2026

By KAREN VELIE

A Santa Maria man was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in federal prison for illegally collecting tens of thousands of dollars from Mexican nationals in exchange for visas permitting them to be employed as farmworkers in the United States, then paying them at a reduced rate for their work.

Jorge Vasquez, 65, pleaded guilty on June 24 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. In addition to his prison sentence, he is required to pay $165,157 in restitution.

The H‑2A visa program allows U.S.-based agricultural employers to hire temporary foreign workers. Labor contractors recruiting these workers are responsible for their recruitment, transportation, and housing, and are prohibited from charging workers for government approvals, required equipment, transportation, or housing.

However, Vasquez recruited foreign workers on H-2A visas to work at two entities he controlled – Cuyama Valley Farms LLC and JJB Farm LLC. Despite being prohibited from charging these workers fees, Vasquez charged farmworkers between $8,000 and $15,000 for their H‑2A visas.

In total, Vasquez and his co-conspirators fraudulently recruited 162 foreign workers for H-2A visas.

Vasquez and his co-conspirators then mailed applications for the H-2A visas to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). As part of the applications, Vasquez falsely represented, among other things, that they did not seek or receive, or would not seek or receive, payments from prospective H-2A workers for visa fees or living expenses.

They also represented that the H-2A workers would be paid a certain hourly rate, $19.50 for workers of JJB and $19.97 for workers of Cuyama.

USCIS granted H-2A visas to workers for Vasquez’s companies. Vasquez then charged the H-2A workers thousands of dollars for the H-2A visas and paid the workers at a reduced rate of pay.