Central figure in Georgia human trafficking case offers plea deal

On June 11, 2024By Rgal Nv

The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) announced that it has reached a plea agreement with Maria Patricio, a central figure in Operation Blooming Onion, one of the largest human trafficking cases in the United States ever prosecuted by the USDOJ. The plea agreement ends the outstanding charges, according to a court document filed in federal court for review on June 7.

U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg asked the Court to schedule a Rule 11 proceeding and accept Defendant’s plea as set forth in the proposed agreement. The court document does not specify the terms of the plea agreement.

The court filing is the latest update in the Operation Blooming Onion case, a saga that has spanned nearly three years since the DOJ unsealed the indictment in early December 2021. The plea agreement will against an April 18 court document that confirmed Patricio planned to take his case to court.

The court document surfaces about four months after SMN reported that two defendants had pleaded guilty to charges in the case and that eight defendants planned to plead guilty. Of these eight defendants, three pleaded guilty in a case attended by the SMN.

Barry L. Paschal, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Georgia, said in a phone call that he was not authorized to discuss the plea agreements until they were approved by the court. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled.

A spokeswoman for Patricio’s lawyer, Juanita Holsey of the Holsey Law Firm, said Holsey “does not talk to people who write stories.”

More:‘Beyond Disturbing’: Former Current Government Officials Linked to Georgia Human Trafficking Investigation

More:Central figure in Operation Blooming Onion plans to take his case to court

More:Eight of 24 defendants in Georgia’s largest human trafficking case plan to plead guilty

Who is Maria Patricio?

In October 2021, a grand jury indicted 24 people for conspiracy to engage in forced labor and other related crimes. Federal prosecutors say the defendants forced invited farmworkers to pay illegal fees to get jobs, confiscated their IDs so they couldn’t leave, made them work for little or no pay, housed them in unsanitary conditions and threatened them with expulsion and violence. Two workers died in the heat, according to the indictment. Court records indicate five workers were kidnapped and one was raped.

Following the announcement of Operation Blooming Onion, investigative reporting from USA Today, Augusta Chronicle and Savannah Morning News revealed that two Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) officials whose work involved the protection or defense of agricultural workers had links with Patricio, aged 70. aged at the time of the indictment. This story reveals that Jorge Gomez, a GDOL State defender who has since retired, is Patricio’s brother. Although he was not charged, his home was searched in connection with the case.

Subsequent investigations revealed that a federal agent said GDOL officials were bribed by Patricio’s alleged trafficking organization in inspections of farmworker housing, and that a state senator State of Georgia regularly hired a family of agricultural entrepreneurs linked to Operation Blooming Onion.