Owners of adult care facility charged with human trafficking

SACRAMENTO >> Four family members who operated an adult residential and child care company in South San Francisco were arrested and charged with multiple counts of human trafficking and other labor-related charges, the California Attorney General’s Office announced Friday.

The suspects, Joshua Gamos, 42, Noel Gamos, 40, Gerlen Gamos, 38 and Carlina Gamos, 67, were charged with 59 criminal counts, including human trafficking, according to state prosecutors. Joshua Gamos was also charged with rape.

The Gamos family allegedly committed the crimes while operating Rainbow Bright, which has adult residential care facilities in Daily City, South San Francisco and Pacifica and a childcare facility in Daly City.

In the release, the attorney general’s office did not indicate when the suspects were arrested.

The state attorney general’s office has accused the Gamos family of preying upon members of the Filipino community, many of whom were new to the United States, for labor exploitation.

In a press release, the attorney general’s office said employees of Rainbow Bright were “forced to work nearly 24 hours a day, slept on floors and in garages, and were locked outside in the rain when the owners were not home.”

The Gamos family members “deterred the employees from leaving the dismal working conditions by regularly threatening to turn the employees over to U.S. immigration officials and by confiscating some employees’ passports.”

While serving the arrest warrants, law enforcement agents seized 14 illegal assault weapons, according to the press release. Three of the weapons were “ghost gun” rifles without serial numbers, which allow individuals to bypass background checks and registration regulations.

The charges were the result of a year-long investigation by the California Attorney General’s Office Tax Recovery and Criminal Enforcement Task Force and involved the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Labor, the California Department of Industrial Relations, the California Employment Development Department, the California Department of Social Services, the Pacifica Police Department, the Daly City Police Department, and the South San Francisco Police Department.