Defendants, who are facing multiple felony trafficking charges, want the search warrants tossed out and their seized records and assets returned.
The statements Jeter made, the defense contends, are contradicted by recordings and transcripts of his interviews with seven employees“The discovery provided by the state, which Agent Jeter had before swearing to the affidavits, demonstrates that these claims in the affidavits are false,” Wednesday’s filing states.
“The alleged victims did not even tell Agent Jeter that the company had withheld visa documents, and for good reason: because there is no evidence that Rubicon actually withheld H2B workers’ documents,” the motion states, and “there is ample evidence of the opposite.” They are asking the judge to void the warrants, prevent the records gathered from being used as evidence in the case and to return the business and personal assets of those involved.The attorney general’s office started investigating Rubicon last May after they received a tip from a national human trafficking hotline.
In at least six similar interviews, according to charging documents, men gave similar accounts of their employment. Most described living in smelly, cramped quarters with multiple roommates and not having a bed to sleep in. All seven said they were effectively forced to live in the company’s housing.
One employee told investigators about a man who drove a company truck on Interstate 15 from Bountiful to Spanish Fork and “never left the righthand lane,” taking every exit ramp and on-ramp the entire drive because he wasn’t properly trained in U.S. traffic laws or how to drive the truck, investigators wrote.