A 74-count indictment charges owner Hunter Segree and two managers with operating a tobacco-processing sweatshop and exploiting its immigrant workforce.
Here's what prosecutors accuse them of:
Here's what prosecutors accuse them of:
– Stealing over $310,000 in wages from at least 25 workers, most of them middle-aged immigrant women.
– Forcing those employees to work 12-hour shifts, six or seven days a week, with no overtime, breaks, or protective gear, all while stripping raw tobacco by hand.
– Running an unsafe facility—blocked exits, no ventilation, hazardous conditions—for which OSHA already fined them $91K and issued a stop-work order.
– Falsifying business records to feign compliance.
– Threatening to report any complaining employees to immigration authorities.
"We allege that these defendants operated a business that profited by systematically underpaying their employees, denying them basic protections, and exposing them to hazardous and degrading conditions," District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. "These serious charges send a strong message that this kind of exploitation will not be tolerated."
Each defendant pleaded not guilty and surrendered their passports due to their "considerable assets" and potential flight risk.
This isn't just a case of a bad owner or manager—it's a horrific, abusive business model that has rightfully earned this employer a spot as my 6th nominee for the Worst Employer of 2025.