Bay Area Care Owners Charged with Human Trafficking, Robberies

The owners of six retirement homes in the Bay Area were arrested and charged with human trafficking and theft in a large-scale investigation by law enforcement officials.

Surrounded by 14 assault weapons seized, including three "ghost guns" untraceable, Becerra set 59 counts against four members of the Gamos family: Joshua Gamos, 42; Gerlen Gamos, 38 years old; Christmas Gamos, 40; and Carlina Gamos, 67 years old.

The family operated the now closed Rainbow Bright health centers – four adults and two daycares – in South San Francisco, Daly City and Pacifica.

The family allegedly exploited hundreds of Filipino immigrants in almost ten years, cheating on $ 8.5 million in wages, while not paying taxes on federal and state revenues and taxes. workers' compensation. Operators forced employees to work 24 hours a day and sleep on the floor and in garages, according to the complaint filed by the Attorney General's office.

In some cases, workers were locked out in the rain while the owners were not at home, officials said. In three cases, victims were raped, said Becerra.

The inhabitants of the facilities were not designated as victims in the case.

"No worker in the United States should live in fear or be abused, abused or exploited by his employer," said Becerra. "The charges against the Gamos family members are despicable. We must not turn a blind eye to abusive work practices. Report it and we will investigate and prosecute. "

The Gamos family, said Becerra, kept silent about their employees by threatening them to deliver them to federal immigration officials and confiscating some of their passports.

The four family members were charged with 26 counts of robbery, a conspiracy to commit a grand robbery, eight counts of trafficking, a conspiracy to commit human trafficking, nine charges of tax evasion, nine counts of Unemployment insurance taxes, a charge of worker compensation fraud, a head of malpractice insurance against workplace accidents and three counts of rape.

As law enforcement officials executed search warrants on Thursday, they discovered several illegal firearms under the assault weapons ban. Three of these weapons were "ghost guns", manufactured without a serial number.

Law enforcement officials said they also found a loaded revolver on a table in one of the daycares where children were present.

The Gamos family has not used guns in crime, said Becerra.

Attempts to contact family lawyers were unsuccessful.

The arrests were the result of a year-long investigation by the Tax Recovery and Penal Enforcement Working Group of the California Attorney General's Office.

Evan Sernoffsky is a writer for San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] TWitter: @EvanSernoffsky