Rhode Island and Massachusetts cleaning company sentenced over forced labor, failure to pay minimum wage and overtime

Fall River — An East Providence cleaning company has been sentenced after pleading guilty Friday in Fall River Superior Court.

Martins Maintenance Inc. was indicted in 2018 on charges of Trafficking of Persons for Forced Service, Failure to Pay Minimum Wage, and Failure to Pay Overtime. The AG’s Office alleges that Martins Maintenance had knowledge of the conduct of an employee, Fernando Roland of New Bedford, related to his forcing individuals to do work for the company.  

On Friday, Martins Maintenance was sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine and more than $42,000 in restitution for the two victims, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

In December of 2023, Roland was sentenced 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.  

The offenses occurred at various locations in Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth, and Barnstable counties.

The AG’s Human Trafficking and Fair Labor Divisions began an investigation after a referral from officials in Rhode Island. The investigation was conducted as part of a collaborative cross-bureau effort at the AG’s Office on labor trafficking cases along with FBI Boston Division’s Human Trafficking-Child Exploitation Task Force.

The investigation revealed Roland performed cleaning and maintenance for Martins Maintenance, a janitorial and maintenance company based in East Providence that serves businesses in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.

According to authorities, Roland recruited a woman from abroad and within a week of her arrival in April 2016, transported her to various locations and instructed her to do cleaning work for Martins Maintenance.

The victim allegedly worked more than 40 hours a week and during the first several weeks was paid no wages for the work she completed. After that, authorities allege she was paid well below minimum wage and out of the cash she received each week, she was required to return money for housing and transportation to Roland and Matthews. The victim was never paid overtime or provided with health insurance coverage or any other employee benefits. Roland also required the victim to complete household chores, including cooking and cleaning, in his residence where she lived.

The investigation revealed that Roland retained the victim’s passport over various periods of time, including around the expiration of her visa. Roland allegedly threatened that if she tried to return to her home country, she would be arrested by immigration authorities. Roland also on one occasion allegedly physically assaulted the victim, after which she fled Roland and Matthews’ home where she lived.

During the course of the investigation, authorities also determined that Roland forced another victim to do work for Martins Maintenance, for which she was paid well below minimum wage. He allegedly physically threatened her as well.

The victims were allegedly forced to work at businesses in New Bedford, Fall River, Assonet, Dartmouth, Sharon, Middleboro, Plymouth, and Bourne.