Prosecutors say three workers were underpaid and pushed into around-the-clock labor at facilities in Vista and Escondido.
ESCONDIDO, CA — A North County husband and wife who run two senior care homes have been charged with human trafficking and wage theft after prosecutors said they forced undocumented Filipino workers into 24-hour shifts and withheld pay while operating facilities in Vista and Escondido.
San Diego County prosecutors say the case reaches beyond a wage dispute because it centers on whether the couple used workers’ immigration status, housing and control over daily life to keep them on the job for long stretches without lawful pay. Rolando “Bobby” Solancho Corpuz, 57, and Maria Elsabel Sio Corpuz, 41, pleaded not guilty at arraignment Thursday. Investigators say at least three workers were exploited, one worker is owed more than $175,000 in unpaid wages, and the inquiry could still widen as authorities review whether others were caught in the same labor scheme.
The criminal case grew out of a complaint that started outside a courthouse. According to the District Attorney’s Office, one worker first contacted the Pilipino Workers Center after leaving the job and described exhausting conditions at the couple’s elder care businesses, Rose Garden in Vista and Rose Garden Capo in Escondido. The community group referred the matter to San Diego County’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement, which then sent it to the district attorney’s Workplace Justice Unit after seeing what officials described as possible criminal violations. Prosecutors say one of the workers was employed at the homes from May 2023 until June 2024. During that span, authorities allege, she was paid $150 a day to work six or seven days a week and in practice was on duty 24 hours a day. District Attorney Summer Stephan said the case shows labor trafficking can operate in plain view, hidden inside routine care work that depends on vulnerable employees.
Investigators say the job went far beyond legal limits and beyond the worker’s training. The woman was allegedly required to live inside one of the homes and share a room with a patient, according to the district attorney’s account. Prosecutors say she cooked, cleaned, fed residents, bathed them and changed diapers, then was also told to administer medication and insulin injections even though she did not have the certifications or training to qualify as a caregiver. Authorities say she accepted monthly deductions from her pay because she was told the money would go to an immigration lawyer who would help her become a lawful permanent resident. When she later contacted that attorney, prosecutors said, she learned the lawyer had received about $3,900 even though more than $19,000 had been withheld from her wages. Officials have not publicly released the couple’s defense in detail beyond the not guilty pleas, and court records described in public statements do not yet answer whether the defendants dispute the amount of pay withheld, the hours worked or the immigration-related promises.
The public record so far points to a case built on both labor evidence and the setting where the work took place. California Community Care Licensing records list Rose Garden at 1266 Pleiades Drive in Vista as a licensed residential care facility for the elderly, and list Rose Garden Capo at 28688 Mountain Meadow Road in Escondido as a separate licensed facility of the same type. Prosecutors say that setting matters because the alleged abuse happened in homes caring for older residents who needed help throughout the day and night. In their account, workers were paid daily rates that did not comply with California minimum wage law and were then expected to stay overnight because residents needed 24-hour care. An audit by the California Department of Industrial Relations found that the first worker identified in the case is owed more than $175,000 in unpaid wages, the district attorney said. Authorities say two additional workers later described similar conditions, including being required to keep caring for patients after their scheduled shifts ended and through the night. Prosecutors have not said how long those two workers were employed or how much they may be owed.
The charges also put a spotlight on how labor trafficking cases are often built. Unlike a street arrest with a clear public scene, this case moved through a chain of worker complaint, nonprofit referral, labor review and then criminal investigation. Aquilina Soriano-Versoza, executive director of the Pilipino Workers Center, said the workers who came forward were trying to hold exploitative employers accountable so others would not be treated the same way. Branden Butler, who leads the county Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement, said the office’s partnership with prosecutors becomes critical when labor violations appear to cross into criminal conduct. Those statements underscore the broader claim by county officials that the case is not only about unpaid hours but about coercion, dependency and alleged misuse of immigration fears in a workplace where employees lived on site and cared for frail residents. At the same time, key questions remain unresolved in public filings and statements. Officials have not described the current status of the residents who were receiving care during the alleged scheme, and they have not publicly identified any state licensing action against the facilities themselves.
The case is now moving through San Diego County Superior Court. Prosecutors say the defendants were arrested March 26, and they were arraigned April 2, when both entered not guilty pleas. Each has been charged with human trafficking and wage theft counts tied to the treatment of workers at the two facilities. Public reporting based on the district attorney’s announcement has described the filed case as involving multiple felony counts, though prosecutors’ release also states each defendant was charged with six counts each of wage theft and human trafficking. The district attorney’s office has named Deputy District Attorney David Vallero as the prosecutor and Investigator Yvette Gaines as the lead investigator. Authorities say the investigation led to three search warrants that were served at the same time, a sign that detectives were gathering records and evidence from more than one place at once. Prosecutors also asked the Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division to be on site to make sure elderly residents at the Rose Garden facilities were receiving proper care while the criminal case unfolded. The next scheduled court date is a May 14 readiness hearing. If convicted, prosecutors say, the couple face a maximum sentence of 19 years and four months in prison.
Outside the legal filings, the case has drawn notice because it sits at the intersection of elder care, immigrant labor and hidden workplace abuse. The homes are small residential settings, not large institutional campuses, and prosecutors say that made it easier for long hours and close control over workers’ living conditions to blend into daily routines. Stephan said the defendants “forced human beings to work around the clock for a pittance,” while county labor officials said the effect of such cases can spread beyond the workers themselves to their families and the wider community. Soriano-Versoza said the workers who reported the conditions were showing that low-wage employees can still pursue claims even when they fear retaliation tied to immigration status. That public message may matter almost as much as the charging document itself. Prosecutors say there is potential for more victims, suggesting the case could expand if former employees describe the same pattern of pay deductions, overnight labor and pressure tied to immigration help. For now, though, the public case centers on the three workers investigators say they have identified and on whether prosecutors can prove coercion, wage theft and trafficking inside businesses licensed to care for older adults.
The case now stands at the pretrial stage, with both defendants denying the charges and the next major court milestone set for May 14. Prosecutors say the investigation remains active as they review whether more former employees were exploited at the two North County homes.
Author note: Last updated April 4, 2026.