Defendants contracted with smugglers to bring Plaintiffs across the US-Mexico border in order to work on their farms in Colorado.  When they reached their living quarters, the "compound," the Plaintiffs were informed that they owed a debt of $1300 to the Defendants for their transportation costs.  In Colorado, Plaintiffs lived 4-6 to a room, and some people were forced to sleep on the floor each night.  The water on the compound was undrinkable.  The bathrooms and showers were grossly inadequate and the entire compound was infested with insects.
The farms on which Plaintiffs worked were 60 to 90 minutes away from the compound.  Between traveling and working on the crops, Plaintiffs were on duty for over 16 hours, 6 or 7 days a week.  Plaintiffs believed that they would be found and harmed if they left the Defendants' company; they also believed that if they left, their co-workers would be forced to pay off their debts.  Defendants also brought guns to work, and at least once, fired the gun to prove that it worked.  Defendants were insulting, threatening and harmful to Plaintiffs, in order to keep them in fear.
Plaintiffs were paid once a month, and their pay was reduced through a variety of illegal deductions for rent, cleaning, tools, travel, the repayment of the smuggling fee, etc.  Social Security was also deducted, fraudulently, since none of the Plaintiffs had Social Security numbers.  The number of hours each Plaintiff worked was rounded down--with many days clocking in at exactly 12 hours.
In October of 2005, Plaintiffs escaped from the Defendants and started this action.  In 2009, the court entered a default judgment for Plaintiffs.