A U.S. federal court Wednesday charged a fourth suspect in a human trafficking scheme that promised teenage workers an education and easy jobs on an egg farm.
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Pablo Duran Ramirez Saturday as he tried to cross onto the United States from Mexico.
Three others have already been sentenced from four to 15 years in prison for their part in the scheme
Ramirez allegedly joined the three others in recruiting minors in Guatemala to come to the United States, promising them a chance to go to school and earn money working for Trillium Farms, an egg farm in Marion, Ohio.
The teenagers were smuggled into the U.S. and soon found themselves living in shabby trailers and working up to 12 hours a day at difficult tasks. They were forced to clean chicken coops, carry heavy crates, and cut the beaks off live birds.
The bosses refused to pay the teens and threatened to beat them to force them to work.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are also investigating.
