Federal agents search Woburn restaurants, homes in 'human smuggling investigation'
WOBURN – Federal agents searched a pair of Woburn restaurants for several hours on Tuesday and charged a father and son who own the businesses with human smuggling.
Agents could be seen inside The Dog House Bar & Grill on Main Street and entering Taste of Brazil a few doors down. Investigators wearing gloves removed boxes of papers and wrapped up computers during the search.
Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations are inside The Dog House Bar & Grill in #Woburn wrapping up computers and pulling out boxes of papers @wbz pic.twitter.com/5zOAdTJ2QH
— Anna Meiler (@AnnaMeiler) October 4, 2022
Homeland Security told WBZ-TV that investigators "executed federal search and arrest warrants at several residences and businesses in Woburn."
Restaurant owners Jesse James Moraes and his son Hugo Giovanni Moraes are charged with "encouraging and inducing an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the U.S. for financial gain." They appeared in Boston federal court on Tuesday afternoon and were detained pending a detention hearing. If convicted, they could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A criminal complaint alleges that the restaurant owners were smuggling migrants from Brazil into the United States and paying them well below minimum wage. They are accused of withholding all or part of the migrants' earnings and applying them to their "smuggling debt" or rent.
A worker at Taste of Brazil told investigators they were only paid $3 per hour, didn't receive any tips and had to work 14-hour days for a month with no days off.
Brazil resident Chelbe Williams Moraes, who is the brother of Jesse Moraes, is also charged with human smuggling. And 29-year-old Marcos Chacon of Woburn is accused of selling fake documentation to the migrants at the defendants' request.
The police presence drew a lot of attention from residents who are shocked to see a raid on Main Street.
"I've been here for 30 years. . . I have no idea why this happened," one man said. "We're all very curious though."
The scene was still very active into the afternoon, with the Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General and Woburn police all involved in the investigation.