A grand jury in Georgia indicted two dozen people in a case of modern slavery involving an organized crime ring that exploited the H-2A visa program for migrant workers after more than 100 people were released from forced labor.

The 24 people were charged with dozens of felony offenses in the United States District Court, including forced labor, witness tampering, and mail fraud, among others.

The defendants allegedly made $200 million by importing migrants into the United States to work as agricultural workers in deplorable conditions, according to authorities.

The federal program stipulates that they be paid adequately, usually $10 to $12 per hour, yet they were paid very little or none at all.

Prosecutors accused the defendants of pocketing the rest of the money and using it to buy a nightclub and dozens of cars. According to the indictment, they also used a casino to launder millions of dollars.

Migrants die under forced labor 

Migrants' documents were taken away, leaving them unable to leave and seek help, according to federal authorities. They were frequently housed in overcrowded trailers with scarce food and no clean water.

Reportedly at least two migrants died and another was repeatedly raped, according to authorities.

In a statement, US Attorney David Estes said the case had released "more than 100 individuals from the shackles of modern-day slavery and will hold those who enslaved them accountable."

Authorities said an investigation that began three years ago broke up the criminal enterprise.

According to the indictment, the laborers were made to pay illegal costs for transportation, food, and housing, and their travel and identification cards were withheld.

According to court papers, some people who were promised up to $12 an hour to work on fields in rural South Georgia were instead forced to dig onions with their bare hands and were paid only 20 cents per filled bucket with armed men holding them at gunpoint.

The legalities 

Arraignments in the case have been scheduled for December 21 and January 6 at the federal courthouse in Waycross.

The two dozen defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in Waycross in October. It was only when a court released the document in late November that it became public.

According to the indictment, the defendants have utilized H-2A visa petitions to bring dozens of migrant laborers into the United States as agricultural workers since at least 2015. Workers must be paid properly and reimbursed for expenditures like food and accommodation under the government program.

Instead, the defendants kept the majority of the money owed to the workers, according to prosecutors.

According to the indictment, they laundered their proceeds by purchasing land, residences, and a restaurant with cash.