Gamos Family members sentenced in Rainbow Bright human trafficking case
SAN MATEO -- Three members of a Bay Area family convicted of running a human trafficking operation for more than a decade have been sentenced to at least five years in prison.
The trio had been found guilty in San Mateo County Superior Court of 38 felony charges related to human trafficking and labor exploitation, while operating the business Rainbow Bright, a Bay Area adult residential and child care company, between 2008 and 2018.
The family members sentenced were Joshua Gamos, 46, sentenced to nine years and eight months; Noel Gamos, 44, sentenced to five years; and Carlina Gamos, 70, was sentenced to five years and eight months.
A fourth family member, Gerlen Gamos, 42, previously pleaded guilty on Jan. 30, 2019, to two counts of grand theft and will be sentenced at a later date.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta said in an announcement of the sentencings that the family targeted members of the Filipino community -- many of whom were recent immigrants to the United States -- for human trafficking and labor exploitation.
The defendants trafficked many of the victims using threats of arrest and deportation, false promises to assist with immigration and by confiscating passports.
"Today's sentencing did not recognize the level of horror that the Rainbow Bright victims experienced at the hands of the Gamos Family," Bonta said. "And after ten years of abuse and nearly five years of court proceedings, today's sentencing only put them through more trauma. The victims showed resilience and courage throughout the proceedings.
The jury found that the defendants took more than $500,000 in the commission of the scheme and that they acted with intent to cause great bodily injury and with cruelty, viciousness and callousness, prosecutors said.
