Restaurant owners convicted of labor fraud

SAN JOSE » A trio of San Jose residents who lured Spaniards to Silicon Valley with promises of steady work and rent-free housing only to pay them a pittance, if anything at all, have been convicted of felony labor theft and other major fraud charges, prosecutors said.

Pedro Barea-Riva, 48, Maria Esther NarbonaSanchez, 48, and Paulino O’Farrill, 51, were convicted of more than 44 counts on Wednesday, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. They face prison when they are sentenced Sept. 20.

The victims, who reported the crimes in 2015, told investigators that the defendants convinced them to leave an economically depressed Spain for jobs at their restaurant TapaOlé and hair salon Utopik in Saratoga, prosecutors said. The defendants said they would pay the victims thousands of dollars per month and give them rent-free housing.

One victim ended up working for about $5 per hour, prosecutors said. Another was told to come to the South Bay illegally through Canada, where she was caught at the border. The defendants withheld her wages when she couldn’t pay off her bail fast enough.

Prosecutors said the defendants also committed identity theft by stealing two Social Security numbers to open charge and bank accounts. One took out an $800,000 mortgage using a stolen identity and another filed for bankruptcy under a victim’s Social Security number.

“The defendants spent a decade victimizing vulnerable people and public institutions for their own profit,” said Deputy District Attorney Patrick Vanier of the Human Exploitation Unit. “After four years, the victims in this case have finally received justice.”