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FARMINGTON — The judge presiding over the case of a Davis County general contracting company accused of labor trafficking has called for a full hearing to determine whether search warrants served to collect evidence were granted based on false or incomplete information by the state.
The founder and six executive members of Rubicon Contracting LLC, which lists addresses in Bountiful and Centerville, are facing numerous charges of aggravated human trafficking filed by the Utah Attorney General's Office, and accused of recruiting about 150 people from Mexico to work for the company using H-2B visas. But once in Utah, charging documents allege the victims were paid very little, forced to live in deplorable housing provided by Rubicon while also being forced to pay rent, all under the threat of deportation.
In March, attorneys for Rubicon requested that the 10 search warrants served in the case be voided, that evidence collected through those warrants be suppressed and a "Franks hearing" be held. A Franks hearing, named after a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a case out of Delaware, is held when it is believed that investigators made false statements or significant omissions in their affidavit submitted to the judge, who then approved the search warrant based on that information.
On Tuesday, 2nd District Judge Rita Cornish granted the defense's motion for a Franks hearing for five of the 10 search warrants in the case.
"I think that the defendants have carried their burden of making a substantial showing that (Utah attorney general) agent (Michael) Jeter's statements that the defendants withheld or denied H-2B visa workers access to their immigration documents were knowingly false or at a minimum made with a reckless disregard for the truth," the judge said in a recording of the hearing. "The defendants have also made a sufficient proffer of the evidence that agent Jeter's statements that alleged victims were threatened with deportation were false or, even if technically true, that he made material omissions that changed the meaning of those statements in a way that would have affected the probable cause determination."
Cornish said based on her review of the case, Rubicon told employees that if they violated their contracts, the company would be required to report it to the Department of Labor.
"It completely changes the context and the understanding of those allegations when the omitted information is included," Cornish said. "I believe that the defendants have also made a sufficient proffer of evidence that agent Jeter's statement that all H-2B visa workers were forced to sign a rent deduction policy was a knowingly false statement stated with a reckless disregard for its falsity or, even if technically true, was impacted by material omissions of information."
Cornish said the warrants in question sought a very broad scope of information from documents regarding all aspects of the company, including bank records from each defendant, to their personal electronic devices. She said the affidavits paint a picture of "widespread labor trafficking across multiple domains" of Rubicon and its partners.
"However, it is possible, perhaps even probable given the defendant's proffer of evidence, that the affidavit is replete with false and misleading statements on many of these main points, and that the material omissions continue to foster a misleading overall picture of the situation," the judge said.
Cornish noted that a Franks hearing is granted for "deliberate falsehood or reckless disregard of the truth" or when the investigating officer "intentionally or recklessly omitted facts," and not because of "innocent mistakes."
The hearing will be held Sept. 9-10.
