Abuse of 1,200 farmworkers nets Eastern WA contractor six-figure fine

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries has fined a Yakima Valley farm labor contractor nearly $700,000 for extensive mistreatment of workers at farms throughout the Mid-Columbia.

The allegations against Superbee Contracting LLC of Moxee follow a separate criminal case against a closely-related company, Harvest Plus LLC.

In the Harvest Plus case, the Tri-City executives face criminal charges in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington with illegally recruiting 500 Mexican workers to Eastern Washington after lying on its H-2A visa paperwork.

The two companies are heavily intertwined with the latter starting operations about the time the former was unable to secure a labor contractor license, L&I said in a news release.

In the latest action by regulators, Superbee was cited for breaking six farmworker protection laws involving 1,200 workers across 15 farms in Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla and Yakima counties and in Hermiston, Ore.

It has 30 days to appeal. The business is thought to have closed.

Giovalla Sierra Carillo, the daughter of Superbee owner Esther Carillo, is one of the links between it and Harvest Plus.

She served as principal and controller for her mother’s company and previously pleaded guilty to fraud and other charges for her role in the Harvest Plus case. She is set to be sentenced Sept. 24 in Richland.

L&I said Superbee began operating as a labor contractor after the state agency denied a Harvest Plus application to work as a labor contractor in 2023.

Another Harvest Plus application was rejected in 2025 after the U.S. Department of Labor banned it from participating in the H-2A temporary worker program and fined it $252,000 for multiple violations including unsafe, moldy housing, wage issues and more.

Carrillo, of Yakima, was charged along with Francisco Rodriguez Martel, his wife, Esmeralda Rodriguez, and Erica Cisneros, all from the Tri-Cities, in February after a federal grand jury indicted them on 51 criminal counts.

The Harvest Plus case claims they brought about 500 laborers from Mexico on fraudulently temporary work visas, then mistreated them when they were here.

A jury trial is set to begin at 9 a.m., Dec. 1, 2026, in Richland.

L&I said the Superbee investigation found the business lied on its farm labor contractor licensing application when it said it did not transport workers. It did so and without the required liability insurance.

L&I also found Superbee hid that fact from the owner of Harvest Plus, which it said had a financial interest in Superbee.

The Superbee allegations:

• Failing to provide written information on work location, type of crops, specific job tasks, housing, transportation and the amount to be paid to 702 workers.
• Giving only some of the required information to another 487 employees.
• Failing to provide proof that the business gave pay statements to any of its nearly 1,200 workers.
• Transporting workers without liability insurance.
• Hiring an unlicensed farm labor contractor.

“These are serious violations affecting the welfare of particularly vulnerable workers. Many are from another country and don’t speak English,” said Bryan Templeton, manager of the L&I Employment Standards Program.

L&I said the investigation found extensive sometimes undisclosed ties between the two farm labor contractors.

Last October, L&I cited a third company, Harvest Plus Contracting LLC of Kennewick with seven farm labor contractor violations involving 329 employees.

The company appealed the violations and the $94,250 penalty.

Employers can check if farm labor contractors are licensed at lni.wa.gov.

This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Abuse of 1,200 farmworkers nets Eastern WA contractor six-figure fine."