Man accused of forced labor took victims’ passports to trap them in Nevada, feds say
A Nevada man forced three people from Cuba into being domestic servants, federal prosecutors said.
Rafael Juan Mitjans, 50, from Las Vegas, took their passports and other identification and led them to believe they’d “suffer serious harm and physical restraint” if they didn’t provide the domestic work, according to prosecutors. He also falsified immigration paperwork, prosecutors said.
Mitjans was indicted on charges of forced labor, unlawful conduct with respect to documents in furtherance of trafficking and forced labor, and making false statements on immigration documents, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada said in a March 14 news release.
McClatchy News reached out to Mitjans’ attorney March 18 and was awaiting a response.
The forced labor happened between September 2023 and July 2024, prosecutors said.
Mitjans took the victims’ passports and other identification “to restrict (their) ability to move and travel in order to maintain (their) labor and services,” prosecutors said.
He also said in immigration paperwork that he’d “provide (them) with basic living needs, including money each month, a room with a bed, television, desk, and laptop, clothing, shoes, hygiene products, and three meals per day,” according to prosecutors.
But he knew that wasn’t the case, prosecutors said.
Mitjans faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Man accused of forced labor took victims’ passports to trap them in Nevada, feds say."
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