According to public records, Southern Press hired Maria Leticia Patricio’s labor contracting firm to find dozens of seasonal employees to work in its fields for much of 2020. Less than a year later Patricio was indicted as the alleged ringleader of a $200 million human trafficking ring.

Prosecutors claim the “Patricio transnational criminal organization” subjected dozens of Mexican and Central American workers to “modern-day slavery” by holding their identification documents hostage, forcing them to work for little or no pay, subjecting them to dangerous living conditions, and threatening them and their families with deportation and violence. The indictment states that those involved in the operation kidnapped, threatened at gunpoint, and repeatedly raped some of their victims, and that at least two people died because of the working conditions.

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At least three other Kroger suppliers have also been accused of profiting from human trafficking and systemic wage theft since October 2021. One case has led to multiple criminal convictions; another involves more than $200,000 in fines and penalties for wage theft.