BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Dunkirk man faces a minimum of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to two counts of forced labor and one count of transportation of a minor.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said 33-year-old Augusto Mateo Francisco pleaded guilty to the charges before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.
According to investigators, Francisco, a legal permanent resident from Guatemala helped Guatemalan migrants enter the United States illegally. He then helped transport them to the Dunkirk area and provided them housing and work at area farms. He charged the migrants for their housing, rides to work and other items in addition to taking some of the wages they earned working at the farms. He also threatened two individuals and told them that if they stopped working for him, or if they did not pay back the money they "owed" to him, he would harm their families or would call immigration authorities and have them deported.
The U.S. Attorney's Office also said that in March 2019 Francisco pursued a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who came to the U.S. with her mother. He repeatedly raped her and threatened to harm her family if she told anyone about what happened. About a year later, in May 2020, Francisco abducted the teen and took her to a trailer in Ripley. He held her there until she was rescued by police about two weeks later. The teen and her mother fled to Georgia but he followed them, kidnapped her and brought her back to WNY. He held her for several more days until she was rescued by police.
Francisco is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30.
