Illegal hiring of Mexican workers spells probation for Bradford women

A Bradford, Ont. woman originally charged with forced labor and human trafficking offenses was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to illegally hiring foreign nationals to work for her cleaning company.

Fanny Chimoy Melendez learned she won’t spend time behind bars after being sentenced to two years in prison.

Chimoy Melendez’s co-defendant, Maria Flores Evariston, is set to go on trial in the new year.

Chimoy Melendez and Flores Evariston were first charged about two years ago after a joint investigation by the South Simcoe Police Service and the Canada Border Services Agency.

The investigation began after two women, Cynthia Cisneros Benitez and Juanita Solario Nunes, were struck by a tractor with a snow plow as they were leaving their job, cleaning a Barrie car dealership and heading to their next job .

Cisneros died in the crash, while Solario Nunes was seriously injured.

Police said at the time that the women were Mexican-born laborers who were recruited, trafficked and defrauded after being brought to Canada with the promise of good housing and jobs.

Chimoy Melendez’s attorney, Jeffrey Goldglass, said the allegations against his client are baseless and that she has paid a high price because of the allegations.

The Crown asked that Chimoy Melendez be sentenced to six to nine months in prison and pay a $15,000 fine, but Judge Michelle Fuerst called the request excessive and disproportionate before sentencing Chimoy Melendez to probation.