NewsCrime

Actions

California couple gets federal prison in forced labor case

Justice (FILE)
Posted

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California couple has been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to force a Guatemalan relative and her two daughters to work long hours for little or no pay.

Nery Martinez Vasquez was sentenced Monday to 6 1/2 years in prison and Maura Martinez to three years in prison.

They pleaded guilty in August.

Federal prosecutors say the Shasta County couple promised their relative a “better life” if she came to America in September 2016 with her two daughters, then ages 15 and 8.

But they then forced the three to overstay their visas and work at their businesses.



,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Saturday

04/19/2025

Sunny

81° / 55°

1%

Sunday

04/20/2025

Sunny

85° / 57°

0%

Monday

04/21/2025

Sunny

87° / 59°

0%

Tuesday

04/22/2025

Mostly Sunny

89° / 59°

0%

Wednesday

04/23/2025

Sunny

86° / 56°

0%

Thursday

04/24/2025

Partly Cloudy

80° / 54°

0%

Friday

04/25/2025

Partly Cloudy

75° / 52°

3%

Saturday

04/26/2025

Partly Cloudy

71° / 51°

8%