Elizabeth Vargas and Karen Rodriguez, former workers in the Human Resources department at Automated Harvesting LLC, a Taylor Farms subsidiary, pleaded no contest on two counts each of felony embezzlement for a $3 million embezzlement scheme from Taylor Farms between 2019 and 2023.
This means both women, residents of Arizona, will serve prison sentences of six years and eight months.
Arrest warrants for Vargas and Rodriguez were issued in October 2024, leading to their arrests a few days later. According to the District Attorney’s Office, the women issued and cashed hundreds of fraudulent checks to former H1B visa employees who had already returned to Mexico.
The Salinas Police Department began the investigation after Vice President of Human Resources at Taylor Farms, Debbie Montoya, discovered the scheme in 2023.
The District Attorney's Office helped uncover the full extent of the fraud, prosecutors said. Both women will serve six years and eight months at the California Department of Corrections, with sentencing scheduled for Sept. 8 by Monterey County Superior Court Judge Mark Hood.