Man admits to bringing illegal workers to egg farms

The man who held a multimillion-dollar contract to supply workers — many of whom were underage and smuggled into the country illegally from Guatemala — for central Ohio egg farms pleaded guilty in federal court in Cleveland to a labor trafficking-related charge.

Pablo Duran Ramirez, 50, faces up to 10 years in prison for one count of encouraging the illegal entry of Guatemalan nationals for financial gain.

As part of a plea agreement, Ramirez admitted that his company, Haba Corporate Services, provided contract labor for Trillium Farms, despite knowing that the workers involved were in the country illegally.

Some were unaccompanied Guatemalan teens who were smuggled across the border, then forced to work long hours in filthy conditions at chicken farms, live in squalid trailers in Marion County, and have portions of their paychecks directed to the individuals who arranged the trips and jobs.

The company was paid about $6 million in 2013-14 as part of its contract, according to documents.

“This defendant profited off the desperation of children and their parents and other relatives,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said in a news release. “He knew some of the workers he delivered to Trillium Farms were underage, in the country illegally and were threatened or coerced. We will continue to work to eliminate human trafficking in all its forms.”

Trillium, which also has operations in Licking County, has reiterated that the company was unaware of the trafficking, immediately terminated the contract with Ramirez when the activities came to light, and cooperated in subsequent investigations.

The case was the focus of a documentary this year by PBS’s “Frontline” series and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California, Berkeley, which traveled to Mexico City to interview Ramirez.

Court documents list Ramirez as an American citizen with family living in Iowa. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January.