3 suspects in Williamsburg human trafficking case plead not guilty – WTKR

NORFOLK, Va. – Three of the four people facing charges related to a human trafficking case at a Williamsburg laundry facility pleaded not guilty in the case.

All four defendants appeared before a federal judge Tuesday at the U.S. District Courthouse in Norfolk. They were arrested by U.S. Marshals last week on charges of money laundering, forced labor, and other immigration-related offenses at Magnolia Cleaning Services, LLC.

A 33-count indictment alleges 47-year-old Ana Landaverde, 64-year-old Jeffrey Vaughan and 68-year-old George Evans engaged in a conspiracy to harbor, transport and benefit from employing undocumented noncitizens at Northstar Holdings of Virginia LLC, which did business under Magnolia Cleaning Services, LLC. A fourth defendant, who has several aliases including “Rodrigo Sis Reyes,” is alleged to have acted as an illegal supplier of fraudulent identification documents for the immigrants, such as permanent resident cards and social security cards.

In court Tuesday, Vaughan and Evans entered not-guilty pleas, and are currently out on bond. Landaverde did not enter a plea as she works to hire a lawyer. The fourth defendant, Reyes, also entered a not guilty plea and is still being held at Western Tidewater Regional Jail.

Wage records show that between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2022, the business had around 121 employees with alleged invalid or mismatched social security numbers and wage payments of more than $1.2 million to these employees.

The indictment alleged Landaverde, Vaughan, and Evans engaged in the human trafficking of labor from Central America and benefitted from forced labor.

According to court documents, a 13-year-old victim alleged the suspects hit her with a belt for making friends with her classmates at school.

Another victim alleged the suspects made her and her infant son work and live inside the laundry facility since August 2021. They slept on a cot and prepared meals with an electric pan. The victim said while she worked lengthy hours in the laundry facility, her son “was left in his stroller with his bottle tied to the chair.”

The next hearing date for all four is on Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. During that hearing, a trial date will be set. The defendants have all asked for a jury trial.