DAVIS COUNTY, Utah, Nov. 21, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Attorney General’s Office on Monday filed charges against three men alleged to have committed at least seven counts of human trafficking.
Named in the lawsuits are Tyler Charles Brinkman, 57, Adam Perea, 35, and Clayton Ray Phillips, 47.
The men are allegedly officers of a company called Scandia that offered clients snow removal services. Brinkman was identified as Scandia partner and president. Phillips was listed as chief financial officer. Perea was listed as serving in human relations.
Each of the three men charged Monday faces seven counts of aggravated human trafficking, a first-degree felony. In addition, Brinkman and Perea face investigation of the additional alleged crime of pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony.
According to similar affidavits for the three men, Scandia workers were recruited from Mexico, and promised a pay rate of $20 per hour for snow removal work in Utah, with 40 hours of work per week guaranteed.
The workers were brought to Utah illegally, and were not trained in their native Spanish for the job, and at least one had no driving experience, according to affidavits. Since the seven workers were in the country illegally, they could not obtain driver licenses. Some were also unaware of U.S. traffic laws.
The workers were required to buy cell phones with the company’s app in order to file time sheets. The phone cost was deducted from pay.
At least one man reported being told he would live rent free, but claimed money was deducted from workers’ pay. One man showed investigators pay stubs showing that $349 was deducted for rent every two weeks, court documents said.
Victims said the provided communal living spaces, in Eagle Mountain and Taylorsville, had no furniture, kitchenware or food. Workers reported relying on charity donations for food, clothing and minimal furnishings. Some workers slept on piles of clothing, the affidavits say.
At least one worker said he became very ill, and was not allowed time off to seek medical attention. Others shared accounts of workers being fired and sent back to Mexico home without pay.
Other workers interviewed by investigators said deductions were made from their checks for not working enough hours or for not completing jobs as fast as Scandia representatives had promised clients, and for other circumstances that were not under their control.
Deductions were also allegedly levieded for behaviors such as complaining and cursing. One man showed investigators a pay stub for two weeks of work that totaled $31, the affidavits say. The workers also said they did not have full access to the money stored on their payment cards.
A records check shows that Brinkman, Perea and Phillips are being held without bail in the Davis County Jail.
