A federal judge is throwing out a plea deal for the owners of a major Hawaii farm who had pleaded guilty to exploiting 44 imported laborers from Thailand.
Chief U.S. District Susan Oki Mollway this morning rejected the agreement because Alec and Mike Sou disputed some of the facts in the human trafficking case.
The brothers, who operated Aloun Farms on Oahu, must now enter a new plea.
Prosecutors threaten to bring additional charges against the Sous should they choose to go to trial.
They had faced up to five years in prison under the agreement that was thrown out.
The Sous admitted to violations of the U.S. agricultural guest worker program, but they deny withholding passports and threatening deportation.
They could have faced up to five years imprisonment at today’s sentencing. The brothers’ maximum sentence was agreed on when they pleaded guilty to the crimes in January.
But the Sous asked for a lighter sentence with little or no jail time based in part on the idea that their farm is too valuable to the islands’ food supply to let it go untended.
The Sous admit to violations of the U.S. agricultural guest worker program, but they deny withholding the worker’s passports and threatening deportation.
