Royal Oaks nursery owner sentenced to jail time, fines.

The owners of a Royal Oaks nursery were sentenced Oct. 15 for their reported role in housing workers in poor conditions and evading taxes.

Nicolas Ruvalcaba, who owns Ruvalcaba Nursery on San Miguel Canyon Road with his wife Ana, is now serving a one-year term in Monterey County Jail, along with four years of probation. Both he and his wife are also on the hook for $450,000 in restitution to their former tenants, along with more than $200,000 in fines to the Franchise Tax Board and County of Monterey.

In 2023, authorities, searching for a probationer on the property, reportedly discovered the nursery was housing 270 people in ramshackle structures.

Nearly 30 tenants sued the Ruvalcabas, alleging dangerous housing conditions. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office got involved in March 2024 when it filed criminal and civil charges against the Ruvalcabas, with felony counts of tax evasion, as well as misdemeanors for failing to secure workers comp insurance and counts related to housing conditions on the property.

In August, the Ruvalcabas pled no contest to the charges.

In a Sept. 24 letter to the court, Nicolas Ruvalcaba’s attorneys William V. Pernik and Ashley E. Cameron advocated for probation, saying their 74-year-old client has no prior felony convictions and is suffering from “neurocognitive deficiencies.” 

“With all of these factors considered, there is little to suggest that Mr. Ruvalcaba would ever commit a similar offense in the future,” the attorneys wrote. “He asks the court for the opportunity to demonstrate his dedication to self-improvement.”