Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Gilroy Couple Forced Man to Work Every Day at Liquor Store, Says DA
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
November 10, 2020

Share

GILROY — A husband and wife have been charged with human trafficking for allegedly locking a man from India in a liquor store, where prosecutors said he worked 15-hour shifts seven days a week, slept in a storage room, bathed in a mop bucket and was never paid.

Amarjit and Balwinder Mann, both 66 and of Gilroy, are accused of threatening the alleged victim with deportation if he told the truth to law enforcement, Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office said in a statement Monday.

An investigation estimated that the couple, who own M&M Liquors in Gilroy and a nearby market, stole more than $150,000 in wages from the victim and three other employees. Officials said in the statement that they believe the Manns engaged in predatory recruitment of their workers from India and lured them with promises of travel and financial independence, KGO-TV reported.

The Manns are charged with labor human trafficking, witness intimidation, and wage theft involving a total of four victims. If convicted of the felonies, they could be sentenced to prison time.

Three Other Men Told Agents That They Worked Marathon Hours

If wasn’t immediately known if they have an attorney who could speak on their behalf. A phone number for the liquor store was disconnected.

An Alcoholic Beverage Control inspector discovered the alleged victim in February apparently living in a small storage room in the back area of the store, the prosecutors’ statement said.

The investigation concluded that the man had flown to the U.S. from India in 2019. The couple took his money and passport and put him to work without pay or a key that would have allowed him to leave the liquor store at night, the statement said.

Three other men — two who worked at the liquor store and one who worked at the market across the street — told agents that they worked marathon hours and were paid little, prosecutors said.

One said he did not understand the concept of a minimum wage, the statement said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

DON'T MISS

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

DON'T MISS

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

DON'T MISS

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

DON'T MISS

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

UP NEXT

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

UP NEXT

NFL Postpones Tush Push Decision but Passes Other Rule Changes, AP Source Says

UP NEXT

March Madness: It’s South Carolina vs. Texas and UCLA vs. UConn in Women’s Final Four

UP NEXT

Major Layoffs Begin at Health Agencies That Track Disease and Regulate Food

UP NEXT

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

UP NEXT

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

UP NEXT

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

UP NEXT

Silver Fire Grows to 1,250 Acres, Threatens Homes in Inyo County

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

10 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

11 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

11 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

11 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

12 hours ago

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

12 hours ago

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

12 hours ago

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

12 hours ago

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

13 hours ago

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

13 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s wealthiest individual, according to Forbes’ 39th annual World’s Billio...

7 hours ago

7 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

9 hours ago

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

Nassau Hall at Princeton University is in Princeton, N.J., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP File)
10 hours ago

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

After 31 years of service, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy IV and Pilot Michael Sill is retiring, having logged over 10,000 flight hours.
10 hours ago

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP/Nasser Nasser)
11 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

11 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

11 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

Vehicles at an Audi showroom in Miami, March 29, 2025. President Donald Trump has said that tariffs would encourage auto companies and their suppliers to move to the U.S. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)
12 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend