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MILLCREEK — A Millcreek couple has been arrested and accused of helping two relatives illegally enter the United States, and then forcing them to work at their fast food restaurants to pay off their debts.
Luis Fernando Mendez-Portillo, 50, and Lesbia Lisseth Figueroa Gallardo, 44, were each booked into the Salt lake County Jail on Thursday for investigation of aggravated human trafficking and four counts of forgery. Mendez-Portillo was also arrested on suspicion of two counts of unlawful possession of someone else's identification documents; and Gallardo for investigation of two additional counts of forgery.
Police say two women from Guatemala, nieces of Mendez-Portillo, wanted to come to the United States to work.
"Luis told them that he knew coyotes and could help them cross the border," according to a police booking affidavit.
The women "obtained thousands of dollars in loans and provided the money to Luis, who then coordinated their border crossing" in November 2022. They began living with Mendez-Portillo and Gallardo, who told the women "they owed him money for the border crossing," the affidavit states.
The women were put to work at Taco Bell and KFC locations in Salt Lake City that the family managed.
"Their wages were put onto a pay card which was controlled by Luis. If they needed any items, they had to go through Luis and Lesbia to get them," the affidavit alleges.
Neither victim was allowed to purchase a cellphone. One woman told investigators that Mendez-Portillo "told her he would be managing her money and to not think about escaping, assured her he had connections, and that something would happen to her family if she did not pay him back," according to the affidavit, "Both (women) stated that Luis sexually assaulted them during the time they lived with him."
Both women eventually fled the couple's residence.
After police were contacted, investigators checked the wage reports for the women at the restaurants and then served a search warrant at Mendez-Portillo's home on Thursday where "Guatemalan passports, ID cards, and pay cards were located in Luis and Lesbia's bedroom," the affidavit says. "United States permanent resident cards and Social Security cards were also located.
"According to statements made by (the women), Luis coordinated their illegal border crossing into the United States for a fee, then held them to that debt by putting them to work at fast food restaurants controlled by his wife and son where they worked under false Social Security numbers and were never given control over any of their earnings. Luis and Lesbia did not allow them to have a phone and only allowed supervised periodic phone calls to their families," the affidavit states.
The women also claimed Mendez-Portillo threatened them with deportation, hurting their families, "or indicating bad things would happen if they did not pay back their debts."
Allegations of sexual assault involving Mendez-Portillo were still being investigated as of Friday.
