Press Release  AG CAMPBELL’S OFFICE SECURES FIRST LABOR TRAFFICKING CONVICTION AS NEW BEDFORD MAN SENTENCED TO 5 YEARS IN PRISON 

Boston — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced that Fernando Roland, 66 of New Bedford, was sentenced today to five years to five years and one day in state prison on 11 counts of Trafficking of Persons for Forced Services, and one concurrent year in the house of correction on one count of Assault and Battery in Bristol Superior Court.  

On Monday, December 11, 2023, a Bristol County jury found the defendant guilty of these charges following a five-day jury trial in Bristol Superior Court.   

This is the Office’s first conviction for Trafficking a Person for Forced Services or “labor trafficking” since An Act Relative to the Commercial Exploitation of People was enacted in 2012, establishing human trafficking for sexual servitude and forced labor as criminal acts under state law.  

“With today’s sentence, we are making it clear that we will prioritize labor trafficking cases and hold accountable those who force someone to work,” said AG Campbell. “I, along with the team, are grateful to the victims who took considerable risk in coming forward and sharing their stories without which my incredible team who worked on this case would not have been successful.” 

"Labor trafficking is often an unseen crime with survivors afraid to step forward—due to fear of deportation, arrest, or reprisals. This conviction sends a clear message that those responsible for labor trafficking will be held accountable and that survivors will be believed when they step forward to share their experiences," said Julie Dahlstrom, Director of Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program at Boston University School of Law. 

The AGO’s investigation found that from 2016 to 2018, Roland worked with the Rhode Island based cleaning company Martins Maintenance. The evidence showed that Roland forced two women to work for him, cleaning businesses throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. These women did not speak English or have anywhere to live other than the rooms Roland provided for them. While they worked for him, Roland repeatedly threatened the women regarding their immigration status and confiscated one woman’s passport until her visa expired.  Roland also brought the women to a man he falsely claimed was an immigration attorney and deceived them by stating it would cost $5,000 each to complete their immigration paperwork. The second woman only escaped her trafficker as a result of the Attorney General’s investigation, following the first woman’s disclosure. 

The AG’s Human Trafficking Division focuses on policy, prevention and prosecution and includes a team of specialized prosecutors, victim advocates and Massachusetts State Police Troopers who handle high impact, multi-jurisdictional sex and labor trafficking investigations and prosecutions across the state. Through the Human Trafficking Division, the AG’s Office has charged more than 80 individuals with human trafficking or related offenses since the law was passed. 

The AG’s Fair Labor Division enforces the laws regulating the payment of wages, including prevailing wage, minimum wage, and overtime laws, as well as forced services. Workers who believe that their rights have been violated are encouraged to call the Office’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465 or visit the Attorney General’s Workplace Rights website https://www.mass.gov/orgs/the-attorney-generals-fair-labor-division. Materials and resources related to labor trafficking can be found at www.mass.gov/ago/lt, including a multilingual video and posters identifying the signs of labor trafficking.  

This matter was handled by Human Trafficking Division Deputy Chief Nicole A. Poirier, Fair Labor Division AAG Andrew Cahill, Victim Advocate Victoria Rossi, Financial Investigator Sean Nagle, Fair Labor Division Supervising Investigator Jennifer Pak, and Steve Devlin at the Attorney General’s Office Digital Evidence Lab. 

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