SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento City Councilmember Sean Loloee and Viva Supermarket manager Karla Montoya are accused of not only hiring undocumented immigrants but severely underpaying them and making it difficult for them to cash their checks.
Since Friday, five more former supermarket employees have come forward with complaints with the assistance of the Benito Juarez Association.
“I think each individual's story was more heartbreaking than the next,” said Ramona Landeros.
Landeros is the president of the Benito Juarez Association, a Spanish-speaking advocacy group in Del Paso Heights, and one of Loloee’s Viva Supermarkets is located in the the neighborhood.
Landeros says she’s heard complaint after complaint from employees about the working conditions at the supermarket over the last seven years.
“You don’t have to work for 12 hours and only get paid for eight. You don’t have to work for 10 hours without a lunch break,” said Landeros.
According to the federal indictment, Loloee told manager Karla Montoya to hire undocumented workers because they were easier to control. Court documents also say Loloee reviewed applicants himself.
“It’s egregious when you come and find a way to exploit people and you forget what your hardships were,” said Landeros. “And not just take advantage of these workers but this community Del Paso Heights, north Sacramento, is a food desert. We needed grocery stores.”
According to the indictment, Loloee and Montoya threatened workers with calling immigration if they complained. They were paid low wages under the table and refused overtime.
Some of the employees were paid with checks that could only be cashed at the Western Union at Viva Supermarkets, giving Loloee and Montoya 2% of the paychecks.
Montoya is accused of using a false permanent resident card and a social security number of someone who died in 2007 and telling the workers where to get false documents made.
“There is fear, a lot of fear, because one day they may have to testify,” said Landeros.
Defense attorney Mark Reichel says the employees will be vital to the case as prosecutors work to convict Loloee and Montoya.
“They are going to be very important... they are a big part of the case. What they can do if they want, and I’ve done this in the past, is arrange for depositions in the meantime. Criminal depositions where you get to ask them questions under oath, so if something happens to them, they leave the country, get deported, you still have their testimony,” said Reichel.
Landeros is running for City Council in District 2 to take Loloee’s seat. ABC10 asked her if this was part of the decision.
“I ran before this came out, but now more than ever, I’m committed to bringing some trust back to our community. Enough is enough,” she said.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg met with Councilmember Loloee Tuesday. The mayor’s office released the following statement:
“I am talking regularly with Councilmember Loloee. I remain confident he will do the right thing for himself, his district and the city. I will have no further comment for the next several days.”
