Man from Midlothian among 4 charged in federal human trafficking, forced labor case in Williamsburg

By Kim O'Brien Root | Daily Press

Four people, including a man from Midlothian, have been charged in connection with human trafficking at a commercial laundry business.

A 33-count indictment was unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. According to a news release, George William Evans, 68, of Midlothian and Ana Patricia Landaverde, 47, and Jeffrey Dean Vaughan, 64, both of Williamsburg, are charged with trafficking individuals from Central America and forcing them to work.

The three are also charged with money laundering and various other immigration-related offenses, including harboring noncitizens.

According to allegations in the indictment, the trio “engaged in a conspiracy to harbor, transport, and benefit from the employment of undocumented noncitizens at their commercial laundry business, Northstar Holdings of Virginia LLC, d/b/a Magnolia Cleaning Services, LLC.”

The U.S. Attorney's Office said the business was in Williamsburg.

Between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2022, the business's wage records reflect approximately 121 employees with alleged invalid or mismatched Social Security numbers and wage payments of more than $1.2 million to these employees, according to the release.

The fourth defendant, who was unnamed, is accused of having acted as an illegal supplier of fraudulent identification documents.

“Prospective employees without proper documentation to work in the United States were allegedly referred to this defendant to purchase a counterfeit permanent resident card and social security card,” the release said.

“One victim is alleged to have been brought to the United States when she was only 13 years old and forced to work nights while also attending school during the day,” according to the indictment. “Allegations also include another victim being made to work under threats of deportation, physical violence, and other misuse of law and process. This same victim was made to pay rent to live in the commercial laundry facility where she lacked access to a kitchen, shower, or bath.”

This investigation was conducted by the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force, a collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as nongovernmental organizations, working together to combat human trafficking in the Hampton Roads region.

The case involved the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, along with U.S. Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Inspector General's office, the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General and the Washington division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant U.S. attorneys Brian J. Samuels and D. Mack Coleman are prosecuting the case.