Reed's Reforestation lured more than 300 Guatemalans to the United States with false promises, then confiscated their passports, put them to forced labor in squalid conditions for less than minimum wage, threatened them and took illegal deductions from their pay, according to a federal class action.
Walter Reed, who owned the company, died on July 28. The workers demand compensatory and punitive damages from Reed's Reforestation and Reed's Forestry, which operate in three Southern states.
Lead plaintiffs Doroteo Gomez-Argueta and Reynaldo Vasquez-Gomez say Reed threatened them with deportation if they tried to quit and told them they would never be able to work in the United States again if they refused to do the forced labor.
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