Federal prosecutors in Laredo, Texas accuse a trucking company owner of putting visa-restricted drivers on U.S. domestic freight.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas made the charges public on November 10. The defendant is Armando Martinez Varela, 56, owner of VMS Transport LLC.
The indictment lists four counts: employment of unauthorized workers, encouraging or inducing unlawful entry or residence, harboring aliens, and making materially false statements to federal investigators.
What prosecutors allege
The alleged operation ran out of Laredo. According to the indictment, VMS used B-1 drivers on loads that started there and ended at destinations across the United States.
Prosecutors count 1,044 domestic trips by 57 B-1 drivers between February 20 and May 15, based on the company's own records.
Housing is also part of the case. Drivers allegedly stayed in accommodation set up for them between runs and did not go back to Mexico.
FreightWaves describes VMS Transport as an interstate carrier with 53 power units and 50 drivers.
The pay gap
Pay is at the centre of the allegations. B-1 drivers earned 25 to 50 cents a mile, the charges say, while authorized drivers on similar work earned 70 cents.
Prosecutors put the labour savings at about $299,606.
What B-1 allows
A B-1 driver may take part in qualifying international moves. Hauling freight that starts and ends inside the United States is outside what the status covers.
The same limit applies to Canadian drivers, who also enter the United States as B-1 visitors for cross-border loads. Moving a load between two U.S. points is known as cabotage.
Penalties and next steps
A conviction carries a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The case came out of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.
Whether anyone else at the company faces charges is not addressed in the announcement, FreightWaves noted.
The charges have not been tested in court, and the presumption of innocence applies to Varela until a court decides otherwise.
In June, TruckNmore reported that about 20,000 Mexican drivers had lost their B-1 visas.
