Three members of the Gamos family joined a fourth in being found guilty of human trafficking and labor-related charges tied to their California adult residential and child care facility company.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the “despicable” crimes were committed over the course of a decade — 2008 to 2018 — while the family owned and operated Rainbow Bright, which had four adult residential care facilities and two child care facilities in San Francisco, Daly City and Pacifica.
Bonta said they targeted member of the Filipino community for human trafficking and labor exploitation, using threats of arrest and deportation as well as false promises to assist with immigration. They also were accused of confiscating workers’ passports, and Joshua Gamos was accused of physically abusing one victim.
“This organized criminal enterprise targeted vulnerable people looking for work opportunities and exploited and abused workers in a horrific trafficking scheme,” Bonta said in a statement.
Joshua and Noel Gamos each were found guilty of 16 counts of grand theft of labor, nine counts of failure to file unemployment tax returns, nine counts of failure to collect or pay unemployment insurance taxes, one count of conspiracy to commit human trafficking and grand theft of labor, and one count of human trafficking. Joshua Gamos also was found guilty of an additional count of workers’ compensation fraud.
Carlina Gamos was found guilty of 17 counts of grand theft of labor, nine counts of failure to file unemployment insurance tax returns, nine counts of failure to collect or pay unemployment insurance taxes, two counts of human trafficking and one count of conspiracy to commit human trafficking and grand theft of labor.
Gerlen Gamos previously pleaded guilty in 2019 to two counts of grand theft.
According to Bonta, Rainbow Bright employees were required to live and work in care homes and day care centers for excessive hours, were forced to sleep on floors and in garages, and sometimes were locked outside in the rain when the owners were not home.
A jury found that the family took more than $500,000 in the commission of the scheme, that the victims were vulnerable and that the family “acted with intent to cause great bodily injury and with cruelty, viciousness and callousness.”
Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 19 in San Mateo County Superior Court.
The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division launched an investigation into Rainbow right in 2014 following allegations about working conditions from an employee. The Labor Department expanded its investigation into the owners following its initial site visit and made a referral to law enforcement regarding suspected criminal conduct.
Arrest warrants for the Gamos family members were issued in 2018 under former California Attorney General and now U.S Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra following a year-long investigation by the Attorney General’s Tax Recovery and Criminal Enforcement Task Force and other state, federal and law enforcement agencies. While serving those arrest warrants, agents seized 14 illegal assault weapons, including three “ghost gun” rifles without serial numbers.
Former workers and supporters launched a website, Facebook page and Instagram account seeking justice for the workers.
